ABSTRACT
In the Castello di San Giorgio of the Ducal Palace in Mantua, near Mantegna’s famous Camera degli Sposi, is a room celebrating nuptial union. It is in the apartments given to Isabella d’Este (1474-1539) on her arrival in Mantua as marchesa, the fifteen-year-old bride of the city’s fourth marchese, Francesco Gonzaga (1466-1519). The ceiling of this room, known as the Sala delle Sigle, is still attractively emblazoned today with the intertwined initials F and IS of the couple’s names (Figure 0.1).
