THE GOTHIC WALL PAINTINGS

The size of the set of pictures according to historian P.P. Solà are 9.55 x 5.40m and 7.70m high.

The Sala de la Cinta, or Ceramic Band Room, was an important place in the Palace reserved for the reception of the most illustrious visitors. It contains wall decorations divided into six different horizontal strata separated by green ceramic bands. These images show the coats of arms of Aragón and Sicily (bars and eagle), with Latin words clearly of religious inspiration, separated by three rosettes alternating in red and black. According to historical documents the full text would be:

AVE · GRATIA · PLENA · DOMINUS · TECUM · BENEDICTA · TV · IN · MULIERIBUS · ET · BENEDICTUS · FRUCTUS · VENTRIS · TUI · SPIRITUS · SANCTUS · SUPER · VENIET · IN · TE · ET · VIRTUS · ALTISSIMI · OBUMBRABIT · TIBI

The next lower section presents a red and green frieze-work with masterfully intertwined red lines framing green rosettes. Under this frieze are once again the coats of arms of Aragón and Sicily, and a variety of scenes of a different nature, including minstrels dancing to the sound of instruments, and knights fighting in tournaments, all the way through to various fantasy animals. At the bottom of the wall paintings are two more borders with floral and geometric symbols.

The restoration work carried out in 2010 allowed for a partial recovery of the pictorial ensemble and consolidated the original wall of the building.