An Italian couple from Civitavecchia discovered Raphael copies by a contemporary of the painter in their bedroom ... 37 years ago. Tarcisio de Paolis was just trying to do some DIY in his home back in 1972 when, stripping plaster from a wall, he first found a painting of St Peter’s sword and then his arm.
He went on removing the plaster to find copies, slightly smaller than the originals, of Raphael’s frescoes for the Stanza di Eliodoro [Room of Heliodorus] , today part of the Vatican Museums.
“I nearly had a heart attack”, recalls Mr De Paolis. The discovery was a stressful one for Mr de Paolis and his wife, for they feared that they would lose their home, part of which extends into a medieval tower, because of it.
Nevertheless, being honest folk, they informed the Ministry of Culture, who sent some experts armed with scalpels to take a look, but no one returned for some time. By the time someone did, Mr de Paolis had lost patience and put up drywall in the room so he told the official to “get lost”, which it seems he did, along with papers relating to the case.
The frescoes are thought to be by Ugo da Carpi, a student of Raphael’s. The Stanza di Eliodoro is one of four frescoed rooms intended as reception rooms for Pope Julius 11 and Raphael was commissioned to paint them in 1508 or 1509. The theme of the Heliodorus room is the heavenly protection granted by Christ to the Roman Catholic Church.
The four paintings in the room depict:
- The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple
- The Deliverance of St Peter
- The Meeting of Leo the Great and Attila
- The Mass at Bolsena.
Pope Julius appears as an onlooker in all of them.
The 50 square meters [500 square feet] of copies are damaged but clear in places and now a journalist is working to see that they are properly restored and receive their due public attention. Mr and Mrs de Paolis are happy for their apartment to become a museum, as long as they are offered another home in return.
Could you sleep with a priceless work of art in your bedroom?
