Volcano Hall

The room was called the “Sala del gioco del trucco” (Room of the Game of Trucco) because, in the mid-18th century, it housed a particular game called “trucco,” which was very similar to billiards and commonly found in Italian noble residences. Previously, the room was known as the “Sala dei cardinali” (Cardinals’ Room), as the lunettes of the vault were originally decorated with a series of octagonal canvases depicting portraits of prelates. These are now kept in the Palazzo Borromeo on Isola Madre, with copies displayed on the walls here by the “Vivere il Palazzo e il Giardino Arese Borromeo” association. The paintings within the lunettes visible today depict landscapes in ruins; they were created around 1743, along with the room’s eighteenth-century decoration featuring geometric patterns, floral inserts, and Borromeo emblems, for the wedding of Renato III Arese Borromeo and Marianna Erba Odescalchi.

The name “Sala di Vulcano” (Room of Vulcan), however, comes from the fresco painted, likely by Federico Bianchi (1635-1719), in the center of the vault, depicting the “Fall of Vulcan.” The work shows the god Vulcan being thrown from the sky by the god Mars, who stands on the right dressed for war with armor, helmet, shield, and spear. On the opposite side of the scene, his legitimate wife Venus, accompanied by a young Eros crowned with olive leaves, seems to intercede for him with Jupiter, who is depicted seated on the highest cloud, astride an eagle, wearing a crown and holding bound thunderbolts. Greek mythology frequently associates the theme of falling from Olympus with the god of fire. Indeed, just after birth, he was hurled from the sky by his mother Hera, who was ashamed of his ugliness; he survived only because he fell into the sea, where he was found and cared for by the nymphs Thetis and Eurynome. Many years later, he forgave his mother for this act, but then, for daring to defend her during a dispute with Jupiter, he was once again thrown down to earth by his father. After falling for a whole day, Vulcan landed on the island of Lemnos, where he was cared for by the local inhabitants who welcomed him kindly.
In the Cesano painting, Vulcan-Hephaestus appears to fall at the hands of Mars, his wife Venus’s lover, who, however, seems merely to be carrying out Jupiter’s will. The episode might therefore refer to Vulcan’s discovery of his wife’s betrayal, after which he trapped her and her lover in the marital bed with an invisible net, then called all the Olympian gods to witness his dishonor. The gods then mocked Vulcan for what had happened, and Jupiter accused the god of fire of being foolish for publicizing the failure of his marriage.
Critics have interpreted the features of the father of all gods as those of King Philip IV of Spain, with the specific intention, as in other rooms of the palace, of overlaying classical mythology with contemporary political history, suggesting a moderate use of force and power. It is precisely to this theme of punishment restrained by compassion that critics have also linked another possible interpretation of the painting, connected to certain events in Milan between 1659 and 1661 involving the physician and alchemist Francesco Giuseppe Borri. Frequently on the run and tried for heresy, he was protected by the Arese family, who took an interest in ensuring his trial before the Roman Holy Office did not have dire consequences. This provides a link to the theme depicted in the painting: punishment due for excesses, yet mitigated in the administration of justice. In this interpretation, Arese would be hidden under the guise of the benevolent Venus interceding with Jupiter. According to this iconographic reading, identifying Vulcan with Borri would symbolize the importance of scientific progress because, just as Vulcan’s fall to earth was a source of civilization for humans who learned metalworking, so Borri’s intellectual freedom allowed the secular diffusion of his knowledge throughout Europe. Not without reason, however, this bold iconographic interpretation is not universally accepted and still requires further historiographical and documentary research to be fully validated.