Coffered ceiling

Abstract

This magnificent coffered ceiling in the nave of Santa Maria della Quercia in the outskirts of Viterbo was commissioned in 1518 and inaugurated in 1538 by Pope Paul III. Antonio da Sangallo the Younger created the design for the ceiling, which was carved by the Florentine woodcarver Giovanni di Pietro, called il Pazéra. Paul donated the around 60 kg of gold leaf used to decorate the ceiling in 1536. It is said that he had received the gold as a present from the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who had purportedly taken the gold from the Americas and was giving it as a dowry to his daughter, Margherita d'Austria when she married Ottavio Farnese. The Farnese lilies on the ceiling (Paul's family coat of arms) and the gold and blue inscription around the edge of the ceiling commemorates the pope's munificence: PAULUS III P.M. AEDEM VIRGINIS AD QUERCUM VETUSTA RELIGIONE INSIGNEM ADDITIS LAQUEARIBUS EXORNAVIT MDXXXVIII." The central sculpted relief is a three-dimensional version of the miraculous painting of the Madonna and Child that was placed in an oak tree on this site. The lion with the standard and the cross is the symbol of Viterbo, and the shield with stylized lilies, crossed keys, and the papal tiara is Paul III's coat of arms. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.