The "hector and andromache" room

Ginevra Canonici Fachini's 1819 guidebook called Due giorni in Ferrara ("Two Days in Ferrara") mentions the décor in the suite used by cardinal Tommaso Bernettti di Fermo.
This "special papal delegate" had taken rooms in the Castle during the post 1815 Restoration period after the Napoleonic wars that had temporarily disrupted decorative work on the building.
The guidebook spoke of a work of art that could be dated to 1816 and that had been completed by two Ferrarese artists. One was Giovanni Bregola (Ferrara, 1764-1822) about who very little is known, the other was Francesco Scutellari (Ferrara 1780-1840). Scutellari was an amateur figure-painter and a fascinating character from 19th century Ferrara.
He was from an aristocratic family that had shared an interest in the arts for at least one generation.
The painting accurately depicts an extract from the 6th book of the Iliad that refers to the Trojan War.
The Trojan hero Hector is shown bare-headed, tenderly holding his son Astynax in his arms and bidding farewell to his wife at the "Porte Scee".