Three Rooms, Three Stages

The symbolic path to wisdom crosses the three rooms, each one marking the overcoming of stages of increasing demand. It begins with the knowledge of the Library, ascends to the knowledge of the University and culminates in Encyclopaedic knowledge, with which, finally, Divine Sapience is conquered. The very arches connecting each room, rhythmically repeating the outer arch, triumphantly mark the mastery of each stage. It is worth noticing how the rooms are distinguished by a background colour and a ceiling painting in perspective. The first, green, is devoted to mathematics and medicine. On the ceiling, the central female painting symbolises the Library, which celebrates the happiness achieved through reading and the will to learn. The second room, red, dedicated to Canon Laws, has an allegory of the University on the ceiling, as a place for reflection and debate. The third and last room, in black, is devoted to Rhetoric and Theology, knowledge that opens the doors to the last stage in the conquest of knowledge. On the ceiling, the allegory of the Encyclopaedia marks the victory of the student's effort: the conquest of encyclopaedic knowledge, proper of the wise. Representing the wise men is King John V, in a full-length portrait. Below his figure, the text states that the monarch is the mirror of all the knowledge contained in the Library and urges the student to recognise himself in that mirror.