Interior of Casa Romei
The ground floor room still shows the original Gothic-style decoration, in particular the Room of the Sibyls, which shows them holding prophesying scrolls among the greenery of a high hedge. The large fireplace is also original. The first floor was transformed during the 16th Century according to the wishes of Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este, who wanted a large apartment built for himself, inside the convent. The rooms are decorated with grotesque decorations on the ceilings very similar to those of the court palaces, but here, as a mark of respect to the sacred place, the design looks sober and scenes from the Bible replace the mythological ones. In the bands, visitors may admire many exotic animals, like monkeys and parrots, according to the fashion of the time. The Hall of Honour has a white eagle repeated several times, the Cardinal’s symbol. In Romei’s study we can still admire the coffered ceiling decorated with patterns printed on paper: this was a very common artifice for the time, but we only have a few examples left.
