View of the Salone dei Cavalli

The Salone dei Cavalli (Room of the Horses) was one of the first rooms to be completed, in 1526. It was used for banquets or dances. Originally, the lower parts of the walls were decorated with worked leather hangings. The upper parts display a fully articulated architectural system - Corinthian pilasters that support a trabeation (an architectural beem), above which runs a continuous frieze of putti and racemes. Illusionistic niches and panels are opened into the walls, and full-sized statues, marble busts of ancient gods, and fictive bronze reliefs of the Labours of Hercules are represented in them. Six fictive windows penetrate the illusionistic architecture, and they look out over panoramic landscapes with life-sized portraits of Federico Gonzaga’s most valuable thoroughbreds.

The execution of the architectural and antiquarian decoration in this room was wholly entrusted to the shop, but the horses, most of which are identified by name, are of exceptional quality, they were likely painted by Giulio himself.