Medici Riccardi Palace, Gallery of Mirrors (or Room Luca Giordano): “Transport to the Underworld”; detail of the vault.Frescoes by Luca Giordano; 1682 - 1685.Pluto transports several people to the underworld on a boat. Also appearing in the scene are Hercules (from behind, wearing the lion's skin), the Harpies (in flight), the Erinyes (with torches in their hands), the dog Cerberus, placed on the shore awaiting the arrival of Pluto, Charon on the boat, personified Death, behind Pluto, with the scythe and the deceased souls, while in the background we can glimpse the forge of Vulcan (element of Fire, allegory of Winter). Above is the fluttering Night, which with its cloak of stars protects sleep (the cherubs with masks and butterfly and bat wings instead symbolize dreams).
