Ceiling fresco (detail)
by BAMBINI, Nicolò, Fresco
The groups of figures comprising The Apotheosis of Venice are surrounded by a pile of Virtues and good-natured deities, including a Mercury who skips about, winking with amusement. They sit comfortably on soft clouds, from which the smiling face of a dolphin emerges - heraldic symbol of the family. On its back rides a sensual Amphitrite, wife of Neptune.