The essay proposed here analyses Giorgio Vasari's works in the Sala degli Elementi in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. He succeeded in creating what is known in Latin as a camera picta, that is literally a painted room, in which classical imagery merges with the cultural currents of the 16th century. The study in this contribution also explores Vasari's definition of 'invenzione' (invention) and its role in the development of new decorative topos.