The Hall of the Giants is in the middle of Andrea Doria’s apartment where most of the reception functions were held. It is here that the throne of Charles the Fifth was placed when the Emperor visited Genoa in March of 1533. The room is dominated by an imposing horizontal fresco by Perino del Vaga that occupies the entire vault and portrays Jupiter hurling thunderbolts on the rebellious giants.
With all probability, it is an allegory of Emperor Charles the Fifth defeating enemies or, according to other interpretations, it represents Admiral Doria guiding the city of Genoa, the new Rome, towards a new Golden Era. Another part of the Doria collection are two enormous tapestries dedicated to Alexander the Great. According to art critics, these are two of the most important tapestries of the fifteenth century. Only the tapestry picturing Alexander’s later life can be seen today and has been placed on the eastern wall opposite the fireplace. The other tapestry of the childhood of the great leader is presently being restored.
In the middle of the wall, threre is the imposing fireplace built by Silvio Cosini and designed by Perino del Vaga. It is made out of black stone from Promontorio and Carrara marble. The decoration recalls the theme of fire and the central medallion depicts the myth of “Promotheus giving Fire to man”. The statues that embellish the corners of the fireplace represent “Peace burning the weapons”. On the sides of the chimney there are two chests probably made by Lombard artisans.
The great fresco of Jupiter hurling thunderbolts on the Giants takes up the entire vault of the central room of the Doria palazzo. This fresco was designed by Perino del Vaga with no divisions between the figures and scenes. The classical theme is the Greek legend of Hesiod and Apollodorus when the giants borne from drops of Uranus’ blood that fell on earth attack Mount Olympus to depose the gods. The fierce battle that ensued was called “Gigantomachy” and was won by the gods led by Jupiter. Ovid illustrates the episode in his first book of “Metamorphoses” that for centuries was considered a basic text of mythological knowledge and primary source of inspiration for works dedicated to these subjects.
In the upper part of Perino del Vaga’s fresco, Jupiter is surrounded by the gods of the Olympus while he hurls the thunderbolts on the giants. The choice of this mythological episode is not accidental. The figure of Jupiter triumphing over the giants is very likely an allegory of Emperor Charles the Fifth’s victory over the Protestants and Turks upon whom he symbolically hurls thunderbolts which are part of his coat-of-arms. Other interpretations say that Andrea Doria is the real protagonist of the fresco. It could be that the portrayal of the victory of Ennaeous over the Rutuls is the celebration of Genoa as the new Rome, led by Andrea Doria towards a new Golden Age. The fresco is surrounded by a large stucco frame with finely engraved incisions inspired by decorations of the Domus Aurea. The lunettes underneath portray stucco figures of sea and river gods and Neptune above the chimney. Under the lunettes there is a stucco frieze with weapons and eagles probably a reference to the Doria coat of arms.
Of the two tapestries dedicated to the figure of Alexander the Great only one on the eastern wall opposite the chimney can be admired. They are distinguished by the richness of the materials used, woven with gold and silver thread mixed with silk and wool. These tapestries were woven around 1460 in Tournai, in the Duchy of Burgundy, and may well have belonged to a cycle of six that the merchant Pasquier Grenier supplied to Duke Philip the Good. The two oversize tapestries are almost forty square metres each and represent many episodes of the history and legend of Alexander the Great who was considered exemplary by the dukes of Burgundy as perfect knight, just and heroic leader and protagonist of legendary and extraordinary deeds. The first tapestry – presently under restoration and therefore not present either on the wall or on your screen – describes episodes of the hero’s youth such as the arrival of the cruel horse Bucephalus who fed on human flesh before he was tamed by Alexander; the conflict with Pausanias who wounded Philip, Alexander’s father and the death of the leader and succession to his young heir. The second tapestry that is exposed, shows a similar combination of historical and legendary subjects and describes Burgundy in the fifteenth century with its fashions, types of weapons and style of building.
The left-hand side of the tapestry shows the conquest of the Syrian city of Tyro, in 332 BC in the form of a fifteenth century siege. Alexander can be seen in golden armour wearing a helmet and crown. Next to him lies the conquered enemy represented by an elderly oriental prince with a white beard holding his sword upside down in sign of surrender. The couple is on the left hand side of the two pinkish towers in the middle of the tapestry. In the centre is an episode that depicts the mythical side of Alexander’s character: the Macedonian ruler seated inside a cage studded with jewels holding two long red rods with skewered hams. Four griffins are chained to the cage flapping their wings as they try to reach the meat. By doing so, they raise their load higher and higher into the sky. God surrounded by pink cherubs looks on while on earth five figures comment in awe the brave deeds of their king.
The right part of the tapestry represents the insatiable desire for knowledge that drove Alexander to explore the depths of the sea. The hero has himself lowered to the bottom of the sea in a glass barrel holding two torches to see through the darkness of the abyss. The bottom right-hand corner describes the final chapter of the story of Alexander when the Macedonian ruler, having conquered all the peoples of the world, reaches the boundaries of the universe and, together with his followers, kills the monsters that live there in the form of headless beings covered in fur with eyes, nose and mouth in the middle of their chest.
The dog Roldano is shown standing next to his master in the portrait of Giovanni Andrea the First and alone in a painting by Aurelio Lomi, artist from Pisa who was renowned in Genoa between 1597 and 1604. The dog is a traditional symbol of fidelity and this painting has an even stronger symbolic value. Roldano was given to Giovanni Andrea the First by Philip the Second as a sign of gratitude for the Doria’s loyalty to the Spanish crown.
After he died, the Molossian dog was buried with all the honours in the garden of the palazzo, at the foot of the statue of Jupiter. The painting probably dates to the first period of the Genoese artist Aurelio Lomi and depicts the animal on a terrace facing the sea while a young page boy, elegantly dressed, is grooming him with a silver brush.
This painting that dates to the mid sixteenth century has been attributed to the Flemish painter William Key and shows Andrea Doria in a very realistic attitude. His face is lined by deep wrinkles, his eyelids are half closed over reddened eyes, his look still proudly fighting against the fragility of old age. The Prince is wearing the Golden Fleece around his neck and in front of him, on a table, a large tabby and a watch.
The cat, is a traditional emblem of the rival Fieschi family but in this case is probably more to be seen as an allegory of freedom; the watch instead, often shown in state portraits of the Emperor and King of Spain, Charles the Fifth, is a metaphoric allusion to universal good governance and temperance. The presence of the cat and the watch could therefore be a precise referral to fundamental themes of Andrea Doria’s political achievements: the Genoese Republic on the one hand and the Empire on the other. Under the guidance of the Prince, Genoa was in fact able to take on the particular role of a city faithful to the Emperor while remaining free from Spanish dominion.