The Hall of Hercules: One of the Newest Rooms Within the Palace
The Hall of Hercules is one of the most recent rooms within the Quirinal Palace: it was created in 1940, through the dismantling of the Pope's winter apartments
View of the Hall of HerculesQuirinale Palace
Originally, the room was divided into several chambers, within which pontiffs gave private audiences and slept.
The same purpose was determined during the Napoleonic period, when the room became part of the apartments of the empress, who would have experienced a more private dimension here.
Tap to explore
In 1940, the demolition of the walls dividing the chambers led to the creation of a single salon.
Tapestry of the Triumph of Ercole (1690/1699) by Gobelins ManifactureQuirinale Palace
The tapestries with the Triumphs of the Gods
On the internal wall hang three French tapestries from the series Triumphs of the Gods, woven in Paris within the Gobelins royal manufactory between the end of the 1600s and the beginning of the 1700s.
The first, from which the room takes its name, depicts the Triumph of Hercules, and shows episodes from his Twelve Labors.
Tapestry with the Triumph of MinervaQuirinale Palace
The second hanging presents the Triumph of Minerva, and scenes from the myth of the hero Perseus.
Tapestry of the Triumph of Apollo (1690/1700) by Gobelins manufacture, Jean Jans the Younger atelier, cartoons by Noël CoypelQuirinale Palace
Finally, the third tapestry celebrates the Triumph of Apollo, accompanied, as is customary, by the Muses.
Each hanging is characterized by lively colors and forthright narrative content, and bears, in the center of its lower border, two intertwined "L"s, making a reference to King Louis XIV.
View of the Hall of HerculesQuirinale Palace
Several seventeenth-century oriental vases are located within the room, which rest upon gilt triangular bases, and bear the coat of arms of Pope Clement XIV.
The pedestals, carved in 1774, by Giovanni Grespi to a design by the architect Giovanni Sterni, are sculpted with winged creatures raised up on their wings and cornucopias.
Departure of Aeneas from Carthage (circa 1735) by Corrado GiaquintoQuirinale Palace
Stories of Aeneas
A series of six pictures painted by Corrado Giaquinto around 1735, with Stories of Aeneas, hang on the walls.
Venus appears to Aeneas (circa 1735) by Corrado GiaquintoQuirinale Palace
The canvases, which arrived in Rome in 1893, originate from the Villa della Regina (Queen's Villa) in Turin, from which the House of Savoy took works of art and furniture to decorate the Quirinal Palace.
Aeneas sacrifices to Apollo (circa 1735) by Corrado GiaquintoQuirinale Palace
Giaquinto depicted six episodes with refined skill: Aeneas sacrifices to Apollo,
Venus appears to Aeneas (circa 1735) by Corrado GiaquintoQuirinale Palace
Venus appears to Aeneas in the guise of Diana,
Aeneas and Dido caught by the storm (circa 1735) by Corrado GiaquintoQuirinale Palace
Aeneas and Dido caught by the storm,
Mercury appears to Aeneas (circa 1735) by Corrado GiaquintoQuirinale Palace
Mercury appears to Aeneas,
Venus hands over the weapons to Aeneas (circa 1735) by Corrado GiaquintoQuirinale Palace
Venus gives weapons to Aeneas,
Departure of Aeneas from Carthage (circa 1735) by Corrado GiaquintoQuirinale Palace
Aeneas' departure from Carthage.
From the Hall of Hercules, going through the Room of Cabinets, currently undergoing restoration, one arrives at the Mascarino Staircase, architectural masterpiece of the second half of the 1500s.
Discover it here!
