THE GENESIS ROOM

The decoration of the room was completed later than the previous one, and differs not only from a stylistic standpoint, but also a thematic one.

Below a frieze, interspersed with allegorical figures and mythological displays, are depicted three biblical scenes, enclosed in golden frames, and supported by cherubs and sphinxes.

A clearly recognizable episode is that of Rebekah and Eliezer at the well, in which Abraham’s servant, sent by him to his country of origin to choose a bride for his son Isaac, arrives in Haran and, near a well, recognizes the young woman he’s meant to look for in Rebekah. In fact, the young woman, just as God indicated, quenches his and his camels’ thirst; Eliezer offers her a precious necklace, inviting her to follow him.

The recognition of a certain figurative source, on the other hand, makes it possible to ascertain the interpretation of the next scene, so far uncertain, as it has been read both as Isaac’s Sacrifice or Jacob offering his son Joseph his own tunic. It is actually a depiction of the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite, who predicts Jeroboam’s royal power over the 10 tribes of Israel, dividing his new mantle into 12 pieces (symbol of the Twelve tribes of Israel), and assigning 10 to the future king.

Likewise, the scene painted on the third wall shows Jacob’s Departure towards Canaan with his wives Rachel and Leah, their slaves, their children, and all their cattle, as well as the belongings he had amassed during his years of servitude to Laban.

This last iconographic source recaptures an etching by Stefano della Bella which dates back to about 1647, and provides an objective post-quem for the dating of the frescoes to around or after the mid-seventeenth century.

Observing one of the overdoors, which shows one of the cherubs holding a shield with the intertwined initials S and A, an important clue emerges, leading to the character of Giovanni Antonio Secco (1623-1713), a descendant of a cadet branch of the homonymous founder of the Villa. The senior branch, in fact, ended with the death of Galeazzo Iunior who had drafted in 1626 a will in favour of his natural son Francesco, who, however, as he was illegitimate, was interdicted on July 18^th, 1646. The property, then, passed on to Giovanni Fermo’s branch (the founder’s second son) and, because of primogeniture, through Ognibene, to Giovanni Antonio, who in 1650 married Caterina Papafava and, in 1657, was able to be absorbed into the local nobility.

The choice of biblical subjects in the environment’s decoration highlights the theme of marriage guaranteeing children’s descent (Rebekah), the division of many branches (Jeroboam and the twelve tribes of Israel), and transfer of primogeniture and possessions (Jacob). (Barbara Maria Savy, Sara Danese | trad. Anna Dal Pont, Sarah Ferrari)