The Arcoloniani room
The room is called after the ancient chapel of Saints John the Baptist and Eustachio build by the Arcoloniani family in 1368, where they had special burial right.
Only in 2001, restores discovered the fresco of 1470 on the south wall with the stories of Saint Eustachio. Experts have attributed the squared pieces to two different artists, but we have guessed that the most probable painter is Andrea Bellunello.
We supposed that the chapel was entirely painted, but unfortunately the old frescos have been mixed with new one due to the architectural changes of the chapel, more precisely due to the 1710 reform and the expansion of the sacristy at the end of XVIII cent..
The frescos show us the structure and aspect of the town of Udine during renaissance, with a view that illustrates the medieval castle before the earthquake of 1511. (It is the most ancient proof of the castle’s look, that will be re-build during XVII with a complete different style.)
Other frescos illustrate the church of Saint Mary in the Castle, the bell tower, the baptistery and the Dome, other old churches of Udine and the medieval town walls.
In the room there are also three altarpieces of XV cent. with Christ’s baptism and the Saints Francis and James with the Arcoloniani family coat.
Finally, since 2017 it is exposed the wooden statue of Saint Biagius, made by Domenico da Tolmezzo, that originally was polychrome, between the end of XV and early XVI and located in the church of Saint Mary in the Castle.