Palazzo Ducale | Sala dei Fiumi

The Sala dei Fiumi was designed in 1579 at the behest of Guglielmo Gonzaga and looked out like a closed loggia on the hanging garden, 12 meters above Piazza Sordello. The current appearance of Galleria dei Fiumi is mainly due to the interventions carried out between 1773 and 1775. The pictorial decorations on the walls and on the vault were in fact made when the Corte Vecchia of the Doge’s Palace was used as an official residence by the Austrian government.

In 1773, the theatrical painter Gaetano Crevola began to paint the architectural-decorative framework in the shape of a pergola, while the realization of the Rivers’ figures on the walls and the decoration of the vault were entrusted to one of the most appreciated artists of the time, Giorgio Anselmi from Verona who in the years immediately following painted the dome of the Basilica of Sant’Andrea as well.