Resumen de Leonardo da Vinci nel Castello Sforzesco di Milano: una citazione di Luca Pacioli per la "Sala delle Asse" ovvero la "camera dei moroni"
Leonardo da Vinci in the Castello Sforzesco in Milan: a citation from Luca Pacioli for the "Sala delle Asse", or "room of the mulberry trees".
The architect Luca Beltrami called the room in the north-east corner of the Sforza Castle the "Sala delle Asse". The name referred to the boards which covered the walls before Leonardo da Vinci started decorating in 1498. "Sala delle Asse" has always been a subject of debate, since both knowledge and information about it have been lacking.
Recent research has suggested that the plant chosen by Leonardo to be painted on the room's ceiling was the mulberry tree, known in Lombardy as the 'morone'. Since the aim of the room's iconography was to represent the apotheosis of Ludovico 'il Moro', the depiction of a mulberry arbour ("morus" in Latin) was deemed to be appropriate for this purpose: the appellation 'il Moro' would refer both to the Duke's dark complexion and to the mulberry tree, a traditional symbol of wisdom and prudence.
This iconographical association was recently confirmed by the reading of two passages taken from "Divina Proportione" by the mathematician Luca Pacioli and "Memorie Istoriche" by the soldier Alberto Vignati. Both authors recounted two events that took place in the "camera dei moroni" (room of the mulberry trees) inside the Sforza Castle between 1498 and 1511. This long time lapse suggests that from the end of the 15th century until the arrival of the French troops the "camera dei moroni" was the name of the room we now call the "Sala delle Asse".
