Venice: Museo Correr - Imperial Rooms - Sala del Trono Lombardo-Veneto (Lombardy-Venetia Throne Room)
For our day out in Venice, Mike and I headed to Piazza San Marco. During our time there, we visited the Museo Correr, which is housed in the Procuratie buildings that once served as the Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace).
After entering through the palace's ballroom, we began our self-guided tour of the museum in the Imperial Rooms, which once served as the royal apartments of the Hapsburg Empress Elisabeth (''Sissi''). Here, you can see a view of the Sala del Trono Lombardo-Veneto (Lombardy-Venetia Throne Room), which features original period furnishings and an 18th-century Murano glass chandelier.
Informational placards provided more details on this room and the Imperial Apartments; I've transcribed those descriptions below:
Sala del Trono Lombardo-Veneto (Lombardy-Venetia Throne Room)
The decorations in this room were by Giuseppe Borsato and were carried out in 1838 prior to the arrival of Emperor Ferdinand I as the King of Lombardy-Venetia. Designed as the Throne Room, over the years it actually had different functions. In particular, it was used as a waiting room when the next, larger room was used for private audiences -- first by the emperor or viceroy, and then by Empress Elisabeth.
At the base of the ceiling vault with trompe l’oeil architectural elements in chiaroscuro, there are panels with classical arms and two coats of arms of the Lombard-Venetia kingdom, with the Biscione (grass snake) of the Milanese Visconti family and the Venetian lion of St. Mark, while above is the Iron Crown of Lombardy supported by pairs of allegorical figures.
The red and gold wall hanging (Rubelli, Venice) is a faithful reproduction of the one that was placed here in 1854 (probably French). The elegant imperial furniture is all original. The large glass chandelier with multicolored flowers was made on Murano in the 18th century.
Stanze dell’Imperatrice Elisabetta (Imperial Rooms)
The ''imperial'' rooms of the Royal Palace opened to the public in July 2012 after a meticulous and complicated restoration process of nine rooms that were formerly used as public offices. The decoration of these rooms goes back to the Hapsburg period, although some valuable elements from the Napoleonic age have remained. It took place in two stages: the first in 1836-38, prior to the arrival of Emperor Ferdinand I, who stayed here when he was crowned King of Lombardy-Venetia in September 1838 in Milan; the second in 1854-56, before the state visit of the young sovereigns Franz Joseph and Elisabeth (''Sissi''), which lasted 38 days between November 1856 and January 1857. The Empress was then to live here for another seven months between October 1861 and May 1862 with her husband ''Franzi'', who came from Vienna by train at least 10 times. Her apartment rooms, including the boudoir that is pervaded by an atmosphere of intimacy and peace, are the most fascinating and evocative of the whole itinerary.
Venice: Museo Correr - Imperial Rooms - Sala del Trono Lombardo-Veneto (Lombardy-Venetia Throne Room)
For our day out in Venice, Mike and I headed to Piazza San Marco. During our time there, we visited the Museo Correr, which is housed in the Procuratie buildings that once served as the Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace).
After entering through the palace's ballroom, we began our self-guided tour of the museum in the Imperial Rooms, which once served as the royal apartments of the Hapsburg Empress Elisabeth (''Sissi''). Here, you can see a view of the Sala del Trono Lombardo-Veneto (Lombardy-Venetia Throne Room), which features original period furnishings and an 18th-century Murano glass chandelier.
Informational placards provided more details on this room and the Imperial Apartments; I've transcribed those descriptions below:
Sala del Trono Lombardo-Veneto (Lombardy-Venetia Throne Room)
The decorations in this room were by Giuseppe Borsato and were carried out in 1838 prior to the arrival of Emperor Ferdinand I as the King of Lombardy-Venetia. Designed as the Throne Room, over the years it actually had different functions. In particular, it was used as a waiting room when the next, larger room was used for private audiences -- first by the emperor or viceroy, and then by Empress Elisabeth.
At the base of the ceiling vault with trompe l’oeil architectural elements in chiaroscuro, there are panels with classical arms and two coats of arms of the Lombard-Venetia kingdom, with the Biscione (grass snake) of the Milanese Visconti family and the Venetian lion of St. Mark, while above is the Iron Crown of Lombardy supported by pairs of allegorical figures.
The red and gold wall hanging (Rubelli, Venice) is a faithful reproduction of the one that was placed here in 1854 (probably French). The elegant imperial furniture is all original. The large glass chandelier with multicolored flowers was made on Murano in the 18th century.
Stanze dell’Imperatrice Elisabetta (Imperial Rooms)
The ''imperial'' rooms of the Royal Palace opened to the public in July 2012 after a meticulous and complicated restoration process of nine rooms that were formerly used as public offices. The decoration of these rooms goes back to the Hapsburg period, although some valuable elements from the Napoleonic age have remained. It took place in two stages: the first in 1836-38, prior to the arrival of Emperor Ferdinand I, who stayed here when he was crowned King of Lombardy-Venetia in September 1838 in Milan; the second in 1854-56, before the state visit of the young sovereigns Franz Joseph and Elisabeth (''Sissi''), which lasted 38 days between November 1856 and January 1857. The Empress was then to live here for another seven months between October 1861 and May 1862 with her husband ''Franzi'', who came from Vienna by train at least 10 times. Her apartment rooms, including the boudoir that is pervaded by an atmosphere of intimacy and peace, are the most fascinating and evocative of the whole itinerary.