The Atlas-like figures

The 8 Atlas-like figures – each 2.5m in height – by Italian sculptor Lorenzo Mattielli attest uniquely with their numbers and markings to the unfinished state of the Sala terrena.

Since its restoration in 2006 the Sala Terrena can be observed as it was at the time work was halted in 1740. These architectural supports in the larger-than-life form of a male figure are used in place of a column to bear the weight of certain structural elements. They recall the Greek myth of Atlas, a Titan who carries the celestial sphere.

These figures normally have their arms raised and their body bent forward to emphasise the heavy load on their shoulders. They appear in all stylistic eras and are as at home in Ancient Greece and Rome as they are in the Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo or Classical.

Klosterneuburg Monastery was awarded the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage by Europa Nostra in 2006 for its restoration of the Sala terrena.