Phaeton & Genoese Themes

Phaeton and Other Genoese Themes in the Decorations of Villa delle Peschiere.

The Loggia di Levante of Villa delle Peschiere features an important fresco depicting The Fall of Phaeton, the reckless son of the god Apollo. This myth is a refined tribute to the origins of Genoa, which, according to legend, was founded by the Ambrones, a Germanic people whose name is said to derive from the amber drops they traded. These very drops, like tears, seep from the bark of the trees into which Phaeton’s sisters were transformed in grief after his tragic death. This myth, along with other cultured landscape references in the minor paintings of Villa delle Peschiere, forms the thematic thread of this tour, which pays homage to the legendary origins of Genoa and its territory.