According to Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) , Perino del Vaga started the decoration of Villa del Principe, beginning with the Shipwreck Room, by depicting a scene of Neptune pacifying a storm after Aeneas’ shipwrecking. In order to carry out this work, the artist used oil paints on the wall: this would grant colours vibrancy and give the effect of shining light, but would lead to a rapid deterioration of the colours’ appearance. Indeed, by the sixteenth century the vault of this room was already beginning to fade, and by the seventeenth century, was entirely lost. In the eighteenth century, Annibale Angelini, a painter and scenographer from Perugia, repainted the vault with an architectural motif. The grandiose fireplace in the room, made of marble and black stone, shows the scene of Venus and Love in Vulcan’s forge to receive Aeneas’ weapons in the central tondo, while at the sides of Doria’s heraldic eagle, two satyrs are playing the pan pipes. The walls of the room are adorned with six large tapestries that depict scenes related to the battle of Lepanto.
After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman Empire progressively extended its control of the Mediterranean until it was able to attack the Venetian-owned island of Cyprus, and finally gain control over it in August 1571. In May of the same year, Pope Pius V created the ‘Sacra Lega’, uniting the powerful rivals of Genoa, Venice, Philip II’s Spain, and various minor powers. The Sacra Lega declared war on Turkey on 7th October 1571, and faced them in the epic battle of Lepanto, in which the Christian fleet triumphed over the Turkish. The series of tapestries was commissioned by Giovanni Andrea I, grand nephew and successor of Andrea and destined like him, to become General of the Galleys of the Spanish Fleet. The preliminary drawings for the central scenes depicting the battle were created by Lazzaro Calvi, while those framing and containing allegorical figures were created by Luca Cambiaso. The preparatory sketches, which can still be admired in the Room of Roman Charity, were sent to Brussels, where the tapestries were woven before being sent to Doria in 1591. The battle scenes are surrounded by replica architectural cornices, made up of a pedestal bearing an inscription side by side with allegories, and of columns on which female figures lie, which symbolize the indispensable virtues required to achieve victory and fame. All of the tapestries are dominated, in the upper middle section, by the heraldic eagle of the Dorias. The sequence of tapestries run clockwise, starting from the wall opposite the fireplace, with The Departure of the Christian Fleet from Messina, followed by Navigation along the Calabrian coast, the Deployment of the Fleet, The Battle, The Christian Victory and the Fleeing of the Seven Surviving Turkish Ships, and finally, The Return to Corfu. The series also contains two “tramezzi” (partitions); two long straight pieces which lie between the windows, baring allegorical images of Venice and Rome.
The Christian fleet, after notable problems in forming, eventually left Messina in the late summer of 1571, under the command of Don Giovanni of Austria, son of Emperor Charles V. Among the numerous Christian’s banners in the work, to the bottom left the Capitana Nova of Giovanni Andrea I Doria can be seen, recognizable in all of the illustrations by the presence of a globe-shaped light at the stern, which was given to him by his wife, Zenobia. The principal scene is flanked to the left by an allegory of Concordia (Harmony), identifiable through the iconography of a lyre and the emblem of the staff and snakes, and to the right by Nemesi (Nemesis), shown being given reins by a child.
The second tapestry shows the progression of Sacra Lega’s fleet and their search for battle with Turkish ships heading East. In particular, it depicts the moment in which the ships sail along the coast of Calabria in the direction of the Venetian stronghold of Corfu, an island off the coast of Epirus. From there, in a season not best suited to sea battles, they set off on the last leg towards the bottleneck of Lepanto, situated in the Echinades Islands, which in ancient times were known as the Echinadi, where they confronted the Turkish fleet. The allegories chosen to accompany this piece are to the left of the Vigilanza (Vigilance), which draws together attributes of a rooster, a leonine head and a crane, while on the opposite side of Fortuna che assicura il dominio sul mare (Destiny that Ensures Supremacy at Sea), a figure dressed in blue with wind-ruffled hair is holding Neptune’s trident.
On the morning of the battle, the two opposing forces lined up opposite each other: The Turks to the right, forming a line in order to attempt to outflank their foe, while the Christians, to the left, divided into four squadrons. In the centre, the ships under the command of Don Giovanni of Austria were deployed, while on the left there were the Venetians of Agostino Barbarigo, and to the right, Giovanni Andrea I Doria’s ships. Behind all of them a rearguard was formed under the stewardship of Alvaro Bazan. Among the two fleets, the profiles of the Venetian ships can be made out. These were equipped with considerable firepower, and often proved decisive in battle. Speranza (Hope) and Prudenza (Prudence) are to the sides of the description of the start of the battle: the first is characterized by a lily and a hand holding an eel wrapped in fig leaves (in the underlying pedestal); the second shows three animal heads (a wolf, a lion and a dog) and an owl.
The battle was extremely bloody and both sides fought with distinction (valiantly). The greater firepower of the Christian fleet gave them victory in the end. The artists of this work were able to capture the confusion and violence of the battle, whose result was hanging in the balance. On its sides the tapestry contains an allegory of Fortuna (Destiny), balancing on a globe, and of Fortezza (Strength): on one side, the symbols of this can be seen to be a cornucopia, and a rudder; and on the other, a skeleton, a crown and an oak branch.
Aided by nightfall, seven Turkish ships, under the command of Admiral Uluç Alì, were able to escape capture and destruction. In the work (tapestry), Giovanni Andrea I Doria’s ship can be seen vainly trying to make chase. Many arguments surrounded his decision to abandon the ‘night formation’ in an attempt to outflank the Turks. The fabric shows images of his victory over his enemies, who are shown in chains.
The last piece of the series shows the return of the victorious fleet to Corfu, whose profile stands out in the background. The Christian ships towed behind them around one hundred and thirty Turkish crafts taken prisoner by removing their sterns. In the foreground, Giovanni Andrea’s Capitana Nova is depicted with a precious spoil of war: the Turkish Admiral’s boat. In the Doria collection, a standard bearing Ottoman emblems was recently identified as possibly having been part of the loot taken back to Italy by the Admiral. Finally, the iconography on the left is that of Gloria (Glory), portrayed by a swan on a pedestal, and to the right, Fama (Fame), showing a trumpet, a lightning bolt, a spear and wings adorned with eyes, ears and lips.