Profane love scenes: The spouses retired to bed

On the walls of the Camera del Podestà are covered by allegorical frescoes. The scenes of a proper initiation to profane love are, in the upper register: The youth emancipates himself and asks his parents for money and The youth entrapped by the procuress is led into th pavilion of the harlot, who steals his purse; and below, Aristotle and the courtesan Phyllis, and Paolo e Francesca. On the wall above the entrance there is a marriage depicted as a cradle of love, with The bride is led to thregroom's house, The spouses bathing, and The spouses retire to bed. Beyond the clear moralising significance of the episodes, the frescoes are striking not only for their realistic intentions in recreatign the settings, but above all as concrete testimonials of the uses and customs of the era, elements that make them extremely appealing and engaging. The figures, rendered with the marked Giotto-esque plasticity typical of Memmo, have colourful, elegant, fashionable clothes and move in spaces where every element of the decor - from the modern plaid blanket to the bath tub - is completely realistic. Futhermore, with their vices and virtues, these characters prove to be timeless, not at all far removed from own weakness and strong points.