SALA DELL'IMMACOLATA
In this first room of the Borgia Tower, we can admire a Roman mosaic, straight from Ostia.
This is the first room in the Borgia Tower through which visitors pass. Here you'll see a Roman mosaic, purchased to decorate this room and brought all the way from Ostia. But the Hall of the Immaculate Conception is best known for the remarkable frescoes by Francesco Podesti that adorn its walls. They were painted between 1856 and 1865 to mark the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary on December 8, 1854, by Pius IX's bull Inefabillis Deus .
The main fresco faces the windows. It depicts the Ceremony of the Definition of the Dogma. In the foreground, Pope Pius IX is clearly seen promulgating the new Catholic dogma.
The fresco on the right depicts an assembly of theologians discussing dogma around a statue of the Virgin Mary placed in a side aisle of the basilica. Podesti's talent as a portraitist is on full display here. The fresco on the left is dedicated to the Pope's Benediction of the Immaculate Conception, an event that took place just after the dogma was proclaimed, in St. Peter's Basilica. It is said that the painter was present at this event, and painted his portrait in this picture.
In the center of the room is a showcase made by the French goldsmith Christofle in 1878, in precious metals enhanced with enamel. It contains works offered to the Holy See on the occasion of the promulgation of the dogma. It is surmounted by an enamelled metal statue of the Virgin Mary.
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