Paolina Room

Vaticano, Prati

Paolina Room
The hall gets its name from Pope Paul III Farnese for whom the hall served as a main salon for his own apartment. The frescoes celebrate the Pope whose mottos were said to be Festina Lenta (Make Haste Slowly) and the Giglio di Giustizia, The Lily of Justice. On the vaulted ceiling are scenes from The Life of Alexander the Great (the name of the Pope was Alessandro Farnese) and on the walls Stories of Saint Paul. The figures of Hadrian and Saint Michael, watchful spirits of the castle, complete the series. The same artists studio is responsible for another two halls: those of Perseus and Love and Psyche. At the back of the hall, a splendid pompeian corridor leads to the next floor.