Hall 8, Sala delle Asse
Room 8: Sala delle Asse (Hall of wooden boards) takes its name from the wooden panels believed to have once lined the lower part of the walls. According to tradition the Hall was used by Ludovico il Moro as a reception room. The pictorial decorations preserved for posterity in the Sala delle Asse illustrate the most important residue of the copious embellishments previously adorning the Castle interior. A letter dated 21st of April 1498 seems to imply that the painting is the work of Leonardo da Vinci. The walls and the vaulted ceiling are covered with a thick forest of trees almost giving the impression of an open environment or green pavilion. A bower of sixteen mulberry trees, Ludovico il Moro's symbol, with a tangle of branches reaching upwards intertwined with a golden knotted rope caught up amongst them from which hang the Sforza coats of arms. Around the decorated ceiling are blue banners with the feats of Lodovico il Moro written in Latin In the curved centre of the vault a trompe-l'oeil represents a strip of sky with the Sforza coat of arms. On the lower part of the walls are original frescoes of naturalistic elements. As well as the theme using "knots" dear to Leonardo and the study of the natural elements after 1955 this decoration became even more interesting due to the discovery of two monochrome fragments (on the wall between the two windows) depicting a chaotic rocky landscape contrasting with the vegetation overlooking it from above.
