The Globe or Four Seasons Room

The first wing of the Palace to be built and lived in by the Aldobrandini family includes the ‘Sayn Vestibule’, today used as an antechamber to the  Council of Ministers meeting room. This room is also known as the ‘Sala dei Mappamondi’ [‘Globe Room’] as two globes by Matthäus Greuter, one depicting the celestial sphere (1636) and the other the terrestrial sphere (1632), stand either side of the door leading to the Council of Ministers meeting room.

This room was decorated by artists Annibale Angelini and Vincenzo Paliotti in 1857 to mark the marriage of Mario Chigi and Princess Antonietta Sayn Wittgenstein. It is also known as the ‘Sala delle Quattro Stagioni’ [‘Four Seasons Room’] after the frescoes in the lunettes of the vaulted ceiling: spring and summer are depicted on the eastern side and autumn and winter are depicted on the western side, closest to the courtyard.

The coats of arms of the Chigi family and of Princess Sayn’s family, who were members of the Rhine nobility, are depicted in the centre of the vaulted ceiling, inside a large golden drape held up by cherubs. 

The frieze that runs along the walls includes four oval paintings of winged cherubs armed with arrows, riding real and imaginary animals.
The paintings in this room were the last decorations to be added to the Aldobrandini–Chigi Palace prior to Papal temporal power coming to an end.

In addition to its frescoes and pair of globes, this room also boasts 18th century doors embellished with golden engravings and mirrors.