In the second half of the fifteenth century, Giovanni Andrea I extended the building and commissioned Marcello Sparzo, the noted sculptor from Urbino, to design a series of decorations made of stucco to be worthy of the new rooms of the dwelling. The large painting in the centre of the vault, destroyed by aerial bombing in 1944, showed subjects of a “personal” manner, in particular, the “Judgement of Paris”. The scene was inspired by an etching by Marcantonio Raimondi from a design by the great master, Raphael, and acts as a clear sign of continuity in keeping with the decorative style of the rest of the of building, and in particular with the Hall of Wrecks, based on another well-known etching by Raimondi. The choice of subject was perhaps dictated by a desire to honour the marriage of Andrea II Doria and Giovanna Colonna, the young couple for whom these rooms were probably intended. The room is currently set up as a bedroom and contains three notable sixteenth century console tables, upon which marble sculptures are placed. Between the two windows, there is a window dressing made of gilded wood, bearing images of figures among floral swirls. A cherub holding a shell can also be seen, which was originally part of the decorations of the statue of Neptune from the western garden, but which has subsequently been kept inside for conservation. On the other console, two sleeping cherubs stand out, created as indoor decorations and still in good condition, which have been attributed to be the workmanship of Francesco Maria Schiaffino. Finally, in the room there are three important paintings from a series of nine by Domenico Piola, made for the occasion of the marriage between Giovanni Andrea III Doria and Anna Pamphilj, the niece of Pope Innocence X, in 1671.
The wedding of Giovanni Andrea III Doria and Anna Pamphilj was part of the strategy of nuptial alliances, that during the second half of the sixteenth century tied the most important families of the Genoese aristocracy to the Papal court. The celebrations of these that were held in the Villa del Principe were a triumph of baroque taste, both for the variety and the quality of the objects commissioned for the event: from the coaches to the clothing, from the furnishings to the paintings, and from the jewels to the silverware. In such a context, the series of nine paintings by Domenico Piola, perhaps the most representative artist of the Genoese baroque movement of the latter sixteenth century, can be included. The three paintings on display in Paris’ Room make up a small series aimed at the symbolic celebration of marital union and of the virtue of the Doria stock. To this end, surrounding the heraldic eagle of the family crest there are cherubs that look to be playing with symbols from art, music and war, and are intended to demonstrate the military value of the bloodline and excellence of the Dorias in the fields of ability and knowledge. The union of the two noble lines is further honoured through the use of iconography in one of the works, with the combination of the Doria eagle and the Pamphilj dove, joined at a crown of laurels, which probably alludes to the marital traditions of ancient Rome.