The Largest Room in the Quirinale Palace: the Great Hall of the Cuirassiers

The frescoes are characterized by people looking out of faux balconies: they depict some important Eastern and African missions to Rome in the early 17th century, during the pontificate of Paul V.

The subject choice is consistent with the room's purpose: the Pope used it to host rulers and ambassadors.

A mission of particular note and design is the image of the Japanese diplomat Hasekura Tsunenaga, who was hosted by the Pope at the Quirinal Palace a few months before the frescoes were completed.

At the end of the long walls, there are four monochrome medals which are also examples of the Roman architecture commissioned by Pope Paul V.

The façade of St. Peter's,

The restoration revealed that the visible cornice had been completed by the French in 1812, to cover up the 17th-century liturgical symbology, in striking contrast to revolutionary ideology.

After returning to Rome, Pope Pius VII ordered the napoleonic emblems to be covered up.

A fragment of the French intervention has been preserved in one area of the room, showing the monogram NL, the initials of the Emperor Napoleon and his consort Maria Luisa painted in green tempera and inserted inside a garland.

The frieze underneath was however painted in 1872, by the artist Gaetano Lodi who was the appointed honorary decorative artist of the Royal Household at the time.

The Savoys commissioned it to commemorate the Unity of Italy and requested that the emblems of 46 cities of the peninsular be painted.

The grotesque decorations by Annibale Durante on the splays of the room's seven windows date back to 1616.

The fne decorations are characterized by a bright color scheme, and an abundance of eagles and dragons, emblems of the Borghese family.

Emblems are incorporated within coats of arms and complement the countless animals and monstrous grotesque forms: allegorical figures, nudes, satyrs, flying cherubs, landscapes, musical instruments, and figures devoted to sacred rites.

The majestic entranceway to the Pauline Chapel is also from the 17th century, and probably designed by Maderno.

The solution of the double door, where only the right-hand door is real, cleverly solves the problem of having a door centered on the inner wall of the chapel, which has different dimensions to the room.

The entranceway is crowned by a large lunette in high relief by Taddeo Landini featuring the Washing of the Feet (Lavanda dei Piedi); the sculpture was completed in 1578, for St. Peter's Basilica and was transported to the Quirinal Palace in 1616.

The two angels on the tympanum are works by the sculptors Guglielmo Berthelot (angel on the left) and Pietro Bernini (angel on the right); they originally bore the emblem of Pope Paul V, but it was subsequently replaced with the metal crown visible today.

The wooden doors, as with all the doors to the room, were made in 1616, by the carpenter Giovan Battista Soria, who was also responsible for the creation of the ceiling.

The other series of tapestries, partly French and partly Neapolitan, illustrate the affairs of Don Quixote.

The French tapestry, manufactured by the Gobelins between 1721 and 1735, features a prank played on Don Quixote, who was led to believe that a bronze bust could answer any question.

In the bottom right-hand corner, it is possible to see the signature of the tapestry weaver Lefèbvre and the lily with the G of the Gobelins.

The interlaced double L in the corners is the emblem of Louis XV, King of France.