Decoration of the portego

In 1696, Pellegrini embarked on the decoration of the small portego, a bedroom, and an alcove of the family villa belonging to Angelo Correr, a place of diversion and delight. The frescoes that unfold on the walls of the portego depict episodes from the life of Alexander the Great. They are set in stucco frames on the wall surface, and their bottom edges are painted to imitate tapestry.

The scenes are: Alexander and Clitus; Thalestris, Queen of the Amazons, in the Presence of Alexander; Alexander before the Body of Darius (the present image); and Alexander and Poros.

The whole cycle has suffered the ravages of time, and by the nineteenth century the paintings were half-deteriorated.