historical frescoes found in the palace of Monaco

600 square meters of 16th century frescoes have been found in the heart of the prestigious Principality of Monaco, behind the walls of the Prince’s Palace. In 2013, it was a simple restoration of the palace paintings. But under the colors of the XIXᵉ century, the restorers brought to light treasures of the Renaissance: luminous frescoes, in an excellent state of conservation.

They were cleared with a scalpel and a laser. On the Renaissance ceiling of an entire living room, there are astonishing figures of fauna. Satyrs have also been found, painted in the 16th century. “Here, the ceiling was in a very good state of preservation. We can say that we have preserved about 70%, or even a little more, of the existing fragments”, notes Marion Jaulin, head of the restoration site of the Palace of Monaco. The painter of the frescoes is a contemporary of Raphael, “a large school brush [génoise]”adds Thomas Fouilleron, historian and director of the archives of the Palace of Monaco.