8: The Dancing Hall

The ballroom that concludes the suite of state rooms has basically retained its original décor by Carlo Rossi. The walls are adorned with pilasters and a frieze of blue artificial marble. The ceiling painting (by Giovanni and Pietro Scotti), mirrors in gilded frames, bronze wall lamps and candelabra add to the beauty of the interior. An invariable feature of Empire-style interiors were table decorations made of bronze that produced an additional impression of stately brilliance. Large mirror centerpieces with candelabra and vessels for flowers and confectionery produced by the famous bronze craftsman Pierre Philippe Thomire (Paris, first quarter of the 19th century) are on display in the room. Silver articles were not only decorative elements in the interiors of the time but functional as well. Displayed here resplendent with gilding are silver dinner, tea and desert services produced by the best jewellers of the age — Martin Guillaume Biennais, Jean-Baptiste Claude Odiot, Charles Cahier.