Leonardo da Vinci in the Castello Sforzesco in Milan: a citation from Luca Pacioli for the “Sala delle Asse”, or “room of the mulberry trees”

The architect Luca Beltrami called the room in the north-east corner of the Sforza Castle the “Sala delle Asse”. The name referred to the boards which covered the walls before Leonardo da Vinci started decorating in 1498. “Sala delle Asse” has always been a subject of debate, since both knowledge and information about it have been lacking. Recent research has suggested that the plant chosen by Leonardo to be painted on the room's ceiling was the mulberry tree, known in Lombardy as the 'morone'. Since the aim of the room's iconography was to represent the apotheosis of Ludovico 'il Moro', the depiction of a mulberry arbour ( morus in Latin) was deemed to be appropriate for this purpose: the appellation 'il Moro' would refer both to the Duke's dark complexion and to the mulberry tree, a traditional symbol of wisdom and prudence. This iconographical association was recently confirmed by the reading of two passages taken from Divina Proportione by the mathematician Luca Pacioli and Memorie Istoriche by the soldier Alberto Vignati. Both authors recounted two events that took place in the “camera dei moroni” (room of the mulberry trees) inside the Sforza Castle between 1498 and 1511. This long time lapse suggests that from the end of the 15th century until the arrival of the French troops the “camera dei moroni” was the name of the room we now call the “Sala delle Asse”.

Index

Francesco Aceto Church area and altarpieces by "primitives" in San Lorenzo Maggiore in Naples: from the "Saint Louis" by Simone Martini to the "Saint Jerome" by Colantonio. II
read abstract » pp. 2-61
Gianluca Amato The wooden 'Crucifixes' of Giuliano, Antonio and Francesco da Sangallo
read abstract » pp. 62-123
Fernando Gilotta A new krater by the Fould Painter
read abstract » pp. 124-125
Jacometto Veneziano and the humanists. A proposal for the 'Portrait of Luca Pacioli and Guidubaldo da Montefeltro' of the Museo di Capodimonte
read abstract » pp. 126-149
'Portraits' for Jacometto Veneziano, Marco Basaiti and Andrea Previtali
read abstract » pp. 150-158
Leonardo da Vinci in the Castello Sforzesco in Milan: a citation from Luca Pacioli for the “Sala delle Asse”, or “room of the mulberry trees”
read abstract » pp. 159-166
Alessandra Pattanaro A 'Male Portrait' by Girolamo da Carpi from Palazzo Spreti in Ravenna
read abstract » pp. 167-172
Stefano L'Occaso Lattanzio Gambara at Maguzzano
read abstract » pp. 173-177
Elena Rame A drawing by Lattanzio Gambara for the 'Martyrdom of Saint Stephen' at Vimercate
read abstract » pp. 178-179
Gennaro De Luca A new interpretation of the “gentil huomo famoso pittore” Giovanni Maria Morandi
read abstract » pp. 180-191
Fabio Sottili The 'Portrait of Count de Bonneval' by Violante Siries and the turqueries of the Sansedoni family
read abstract » 192-197