The tiny chamber of Venus led via a staircase to the stufetta, Federico II’s private bathroom, on the mezzanine floor. The small size and intimacy of the room is underlined by the half-light coming from the single small window.

The name derives from the fresco in the roundel in the centre of the vault: the Toilet of Venus. The goddess is holding a mirror and is in the company of Amor.

The iconography is completed by putti bringing the goddess items for her toilet: a feather and brush, perfume bottles, a small towel, mirror, combs and a turban.

The figures are part of a wider decorative scheme including grotesques with rectangles on a vivid red and ochre background. Around the perimeter the white background decoration displays swords, shields and quivers that allude to the warlike qualities of the prince.

The disappearance of the stucco decoration in the vault and the lack of furniture prevent one from fully appreciating the charm of the original room, which can only be imagined nowadays.

The painted decoration is by Gerolamo da Pontremoli, who was paid for his work here in 1534.

Introduceva alla scala che porta alla stufetta (locale per il bagno) di Federico II. Nel vivace ornato a grottesche compaiono oggetti da toeletta, sorretti da amorini in volo agli angoli della volta, che alludono all’uso privato di questi ambienti del palazzo. Gli stucchi, di cui rimangono solo frammenti, sono di Andrea e Biagio Conti; le pitture di Luca da Faenza e Gerolamo da Pontremoli (1534). The staircase that led to Federico II’s stufetta (bathroom) started here. The private use of these rooms is revealed by the lively grotesque decorations including articles from the toilette, held up by flying cherubs in the corners of the vaults. The fragmentary stuccoes are by Andrea and Biagio Conti; the paintings by Luca da Faenza and Gerolamo da Pontremoli (1534).