TERRENI, Giuseppe Maria

Of all the Medici villas in the environs of Florence, Poggio Imperiale has the most imposing site and is also closest to the Palazzo Pitti, which became the official residence of the grand dukes in 1561. The property came into the possession of Cosimo I de’ Medici in 1565. From 1618 Maria Magdalena of Austria, the wife of Cosimo II de’ Medici invested a great sum on improvements made under the direction of Giulio Parigi. In 1624 the property was officially named Poggio Imperiale with reference to the grand duchess’s imperial lineage. The lineage was also featured in the ambitious pictorial program of the public rooms and bedrooms which lay on the ground floor. However, the villa was stripped of its precious furnishings and art treasures from the seventeenth century under the Habsburg-Lorraine regency (1737-65).

The decoration of Poggio Imperiale started again under the reign of Peter Leopold (1747-1792) who succeeded his father as Grand Duke of Tuscany when his eldest brother became emperor as Joseph II in 1765. This decoration was intended to set a new artistic direction and propagate new standards of taste: Neoclassicism.

Three rooms in the south wing were frescoed in 1768-72 by Tommaso Gherardini and Giuliano Traballesi with the collaboration of Giuseppe del Moro, one of the best Tuscan perspective painters of the time. It was followed by the decoration of five rooms in the west wing in 1773-78. Here the frescoes were executed by Giuseppe Maria Terreni, Giuseppe Gricci, Giuseppe del Moro, Giuseppe Antonio Fabbrini, and Tommaso Gherardini.

The Sala delle Opere e dei Giorni is one of the grand duke’s official rooms in the west wing. It received its name due to the assumption that its decoration by Giuseppe Maria Terreni refers to Hesiod’s didactic poem Works and Days. The ceiling picture shows Hercules Crowned by Gloria and Honor, the wall pictures are landscapes, shepherd idylls in classical ruins, and a nobleman with retinue in front of a tavern.

Images showing the decorations of the various rooms in the Villa Poggio Imperiale can be viewd on the respective pages of Tommaso Gherardini, Giuliano Traballesi, Giuseppe del Moro, Giuseppe Maria Terreni, and Giuseppe Antonio Fabbrini.

The Sala delle Quattro Stagioni (or Sala d’Ercole) is one of the grand duke’s official rooms in the west wing. The painting of the walls takes up the theme of landscape, showing traditional prospects seen through the architecture of a loggia. Personifications of the four seasons, above whom Helios hovers in bright light, are enthroned on cloud formations painted in deep tones. The foliage of trees is visible above the openwork balustrades of the coving, their trunks hidden behind the loggia of Ionic columns. Between the columns are views of a serene, well-tended park landscape with small temples, tall yew hedges, and painted statues.

The picture shows one of the two opposing wall paintings, the Shepherd Idyll and Nobleman in Front of a Tavern, in the Sala delle Opere e dei Giorni. These paintings with charming landscapes were most likely meant to be images of antithetical spheres of life. The shepherd idyll in a landscape dotted with classical ruins is juxtaposed to a craggy landscape featuring a country tavern with hustling activity in front of it.

The picture shows one of the two opposing wall paintings, the Shepherd Idyll and Nobleman in Front of a Tavern, in the Sala delle Opere e dei Giorni. These paintings with charming landscapes were most likely meant to be images of antithetical spheres of life. The shepherd idyll in a landscape dotted with classical ruins is juxtaposed to a craggy landscape featuring a country tavern with hustling activity in front of it.