House of the Redeemer

The library is one of the great treasures of House of the Redeemer. Constructed for a 16th-century Ducal Palace on the outskirts of Urbino, Italy, the woodwork was purchased by Edith Fabbri at the outbreak of World War I. The woodwork was installed by a Florentine carpenter by the name of “Tonino,” under the direction of Egisto Fabbri, who designed the organ grille and the main entrance to correspond to the original design. The magnificently carved mantel was also taken from the Ducal library outside Urbino. The ceiling medallion depicts the arms of Francesco Maria II Della Rovere, the last Duke of Urbino.

The Chapel originally served as Edith Fabbri’s formal drawing room. The carved mantel, which now serves as the reredos for the altar, and the coffered ceiling were both parts of Fabbri’s collection of architectural fragments. The leaded-glass windows, installed in 1985, were designed and executed by Bonnie Farber of Glastonbury, Connecticut. The triptych over the altar was painted by the Rev. John Walsted and donated to the House in 2001.

After exchanging their vows, newlyweds and their loved ones can make their way outside to the courtyard for cocktail hour, entering through an elaborate wrought-iron gate set between urn-topped stone pillars.

The furniture of this room is predominantly Italian Baroque. On the east wall is a pair of Flemish landscape paintings, which date from the 17th century. The paintings hanging on the west wall are Venetian, dating from the 18th century, and depict religious processions in Florentine or Venetian squares.