Rolli Palaces Walking Tour (Self Guided), Genoa

The Giacomo Spinola Palace is located in the Piazza della Fontane Marose number 6. It is listed in the Rolli of Genoa and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Currently it is home to the Bank of Sardegna. It was built for Giacomo Spinola between 1445 and 1450.

It has a facade with niches holding statues of illustrious family members. The building is noted for its black and white facade. This was an honor that was given to only the four leading families of the city. They were Doria, Spinola, Fieschi, and Grimaldi.

The Palace was the first to manifest the Genoese penchant of building up onto a hill slope behind the building. This practice made possible surprising ponds, gardens and terraces.

In the 19th century the Via 25th April was opened and the level of the Piazza Fontane Marose was lowered. Together with 20th century restoration work, this had only a slight effect on the characteristics of the building.

The building is not open to the public as it is the home office of a bank.

Palazzo Ayrolo Negrone, located in Piazza delle Fontane Marose, is one of the foremost Rolli Palaces of Genoa.

Its current appearance resulted from the rebuilding of elevations on houses 3 and 4 in the late 18th century by Antonio Barabino for the Marquis Negrone. The palace also incorporates a building erected between 1560 and 1562 for Francesco De Ugarte, Spanish ambassador to the Republic of Genoa.

The two wings of the palace were separated in 1588 and listed in the Rolli of Genoa as individual properties – of Luca Negrone and his cousin, Gio Batta Spinola. In the first half of the 17th century the palace was again reunified, under the ownership of Gio Tommaso Ayrolo, who then gave it back to the Negrone family in 1657.

With the widening and altimetric reorganization of the slope of Santa Caterina, and also, following the connection of Piazza delle Fontane Marose to Via Carlo Felice (today's Via XXV Aprile), the need for two access portals to the property became apparent. These, in marble, were added in 1870, representing a further compositional adjustment of the majestic façade (with as many as fifty windows on).

Still, the most striking feature of the palace is a 17th-century gallery with vaults decorated with the images of Aeneas, a Trojan hero, by Giovanni Battista Carlone, commissioned by Aghostino Ayrolo. The brilliantly colored frescoes are lighted by large windows, and the balustrades bring out the effects of perspective. The story of the Trojan War is depicted here in three scenes.

Palazzo Pallavicini-Cambiaso, aka Palazzo Agostino Pallavicini, at Via Garibaldi number 1, was originally built in 1558. The building was commissioned by Agostino Pallavicini, the Genoese ambassador to Spain, who was also the brother of Tobia Pallavicino, the one who, in the same years, built number 4 in Via Garibaldi, currently known as Palazzo Tobia Pallavicino.

Of all Agostino's sons, Niccolò Pallavicini (1562-1619) was particularly distinguished; he hosted Rubens during his stay in Genoa, and had him paint some of the greatest masterpieces of his Genoese period, including his own portrait and that of his wife, Maria Serra. The palace, featured in Rubens's edition of Palazzi di Genova of 1622, became the property of the Cambiaso family by the mid-18th century.

The building was designed by Bernardino Cantone. Its façade, very elegant, has an ashlar facing made of rusticated gray stone that brings out the white marble of the baseboards, in which an 18th-century votive shrine is framed. The portal is decorated with a Mannerist-style bucrania (ox head) frieze.

Among other merits of the building – relatively modest in size, but still rather grand, in part due to its prime location on Via Garibaldi and the vicinity of Piazza delle Fontane Marose – are the Rape of the Sabines fresco in the living room, on the main floor, and the History of Cupid and Psyche, in the large hall, both painted by the Genoese artists Andrea and Ottavio Semino.

The building is currently owned by a prominent banking institution.

The Pantaleo Spinola palace, also known as Palazzo Gambaro, is located at number 2 Via Garibaldi.

It was built by architect Bernardo Spazio (succeeded by Pietro Orsolino towards the end of the project, in 1558) for Pantaleo Spinola, who died in 1536 without ever having lived in this building. After the Spinolas, the property was owned by the Giustiniani and then by the Gambaro family.

Rubens included this palace in his 1622 book “Palazzi di Genova”.

The building's façade, with very simple lines, is animated by the rhythm of the windows, the balcony projection and, above all, by the portal surmounted with two marble statues – of Prudence and Vigilance. The ground floor is richly frescoed with biblical episodes, such as Susanna and the elders, Solomon's judgment, The end of Absalom, all created by Giovanni Bastista Carlone in the early decades of the 17th century. These was some of his last works, still lingering on the late Mannerist style. Also of great value is the glass Deco-style compass, made in 1923.

Upstairs there are 16th-century frescoes by Semino and Calvi brothers. The most famous ones, however, are the late 17th-century cycles of frescoes created by Giovanni Carlone, Domenico Piola from Genoa, and Paolo Brozzi from Emilia – some the best examples of Genoese Baroque. The depicted themes there include mythological scenes, such as the Offering to Jupiter of the keys to the temple of Janus, the episodes of Roman history (e.g. the life of Lucrezia, Coriolanus, and the Rape of the Sabines), Christian reinterpretations of pagan themes, and others.

The building currently serves as the seat of the Banco di Chiavari e della Riviera Ligure.

The Carrega-Cataldi (aka Tobia Pallavicino) palace, is a historic building located at Via Garibaldi number 4. The palace was built between 1558 and 1561 for Tobia Pallavicino, a wealthy merchant and descendant of one of the oldest noble families of the Genoese Republic, and was designed by Giovanni Battista Castello "il Bergamasco".

The 16th-century construction consisted of a cubic block of two floors, plus two mezzanines. The building had not undergone significant changes until the early 18th century, when it was acquired by the Carrega family. After that, it was raised by one floor and considerably enlarged, with two perpendicular wings added.

The clarity of the palace's front is Renaissance, with the ashlar finish in stone on the ground floor and the Ionic pilasters on the first floor, harmoniously marking the façade.

The interior design reflects two phases of the construction. In particular, the two vestibules on the ground floor and the main floor have both side walls and ceiling totally covered in late Renaissance decoration: stucco, grotesque and painted panels.

The second construction phase, of the 18th century, is seen in the Chapel and the Golden Gallery. The former, decorated by Lorenzo De Ferrari, carries stucco and fake stucco, surrounding the fresco depicting a flight of angels. The doors are decorated with painted medallions on canvas.

The complex decoration of the Golden Gallery represents a significant example of the Rococo style in Genoa. It was entirely conceived by De Ferrari, between 1734 and 1744, following a unitary design that blends together gilded stuccos, mirrors and frescoes.

In both spaces, the inner decoration becomes all-encompassing, merging walls, ceilings, doors, mirrors and furnishings in a sophisticated scenographic apparatus, destined to amaze the viewer.

Presently, the building houses the Genoa Chamber of Commerce.

Palazzo Lercari-Parodi, or Franco Lercari, is located in Via Garibaldi at number 3.

It was built from 1571 by Franco Lercari, a wealthy banker, who also held the position of governor of the Genoese Republic in the 1770s. In 1845, another banker, Bartolomeo Parodi, bought the property; his family still owns it.

The palace, whose designer is unknown, differs from other buildings in Via Garibaldi. The lower part of the facade is decorated with diamond point ashlar, while the upper floors were originally lightened by a series of open loggias, as evident from Rubens's illustrations for the 1622 book “Palazzi di Genova”. Eventually, those loggias were closed by windows and walled up in the early 19th century.

Also on the façade is a very interesting portal, supported by two telamons with severed noses, the work of Taddeo Carlone. These depict the horrid legend of Megollo Lercari, ancestor of the owner, who took revenge on his enemies by mutilating their noses and ears.

Inside the loggia, on the first floor, there are busts of Franco Lercari and his wife, Antonia De Marini, created by Taddeo Carlone, along with the images of Emperor Charles V of Habsburg and King of Spain Philip II. The 16th-century frescoes of airy landscapes, found on the walls, are complemented by those in the vault depicting battle scenes from the Roman history and episodes from the Bible.

In the vault of the hall, on the second floor, there is a famous Genoese Mannerism-style fresco by Luca Cambiaso, featuring Megollo Lercari engaged in construction of the Genoese warehouse in Trebizond. Images of other Lercari ancestors nearby offer a glimpse of the Lercari palace in its early days, providing the idea of Strada Nuova (now Via Garibaldi)'s appearance centuries ago.

Palazzo Doria, otherwise known as Palazzo Gio Battista Spinola or Palazzo Andrea e Gio Batta Spinola, is the palace situated at 6 Via Garibaldi. This was one of the 163 Palazzi dei Rolli of Genoa originally selected to accommodate notable guests of the Republic of Genoa back in the old days.

The site on which the building stands was purchased, via auction, in 1551 by Constantino Gentile; he later sold it, for a double price, to the brothers Giambattista and Andrea Spinola. The brothers commissioned construction of the palace in 1563. In 1566, Andrea passed his share of ownership to Giambattista, which sped up the construction; by 1567 it was almost completed.

Until recently, Giovanni Battista Castello was believed to be the chief architect of the building. However, the documents unearthed in 1968 revealed Bernardino Cantone to be the one in charge. Only the fireplace on the “piano nobile” (main floor), and the internal courtyard are still attributed to Castello.

Palazzo Doria was the only palace in Strada Nuova (current Via Garibaldi) to be seriously damaged by the French naval bombing in 1684. The ensued restoration of the building, performed by architect Gio Antonio Ricca, saw addition of a story and redesign of the whole façade. Still, the 17th-century alterations did not affect the original sequence of the atrium, courtyard and garden created by Castello.

In 1723, the palace was purchased by the Doria family. The Dorias did not see any need for refurbishing the property beyond routine repairs and only added a notable lantern in the atrium with their family coat of arms.

Presently, the palace still remains the property of the Doria family, as their residence. Only the exterior and limited internal areas are open to the public.

Palazzo Angelo Giovanni Spinola is yet another palace in Via Garibaldi, one of the original 163 Palazzi dei Rolli of Genoa established in 1576.

The construction of the palace was commissioned in 1558 by Angelo Giovanni Spinola, Ambassador of the Republic of Genoa to Spain, who also served as Toledo banker to Emperor Charles V. The palace was completed in 1576 by his son Giulio; in 1580 he ordered excavation of part of the hill behind the building in order to expand it with a courtyard and garden. The project was designed by architect Giovanni Ponzello.

The building has a monumental character due to its exceptionally high, sizeable rooms, much as to the solemnity of the path leading from the porch to the lodge patio, and further to the upper loggia and salon floor.

The façade of the palace is decorated with frescoes executed by Calvi brothers, possibly together with Lazzaro Tavarone. They depict members of the House of Spinola dressed as Roman condottieri (mercenaries). A staircase decorated by grotesque frescoes leads to the upper floor, decorated with frescoes by Andrea Semino, Bernardo Castello and Lazzaro Tavarone. A fresco attributed to Semino shows the building in its original state, as viewed from a mountain.

The decorative themes are all inspired by the ambitiously grandiose epic Livy character, a Roman historian who authored a monumental history of Rome and the Romans.

In 1919, the palace was sold to the bank Crédit Commercial de France and was converted into office building. In 1926, it was taken over by the Banca d'America e d'Italia. Today it belongs to Deutsche Bank, with limited access to the public.

The Podestà, or Nicolosio Lomellino, palace is a building at Via Garibaldi number 7.

It was built between 1559 and 1565 by Giovanni Battista Castello, known as "il Bergamasco", in collaboration with Bernardino Cantone at the behest of Nicolosio Lomellino, a highly influential relative of Prince Andrea Doria. In the early 17th century the palace was taken over by the Centurione family who carried out its internal restructuring. Eventually, the property fell into the hands of Andrea Podestà, who served as a mayor of Genoa several times from 1866 to 1895.

The façade, designed by il Bergamasco, is enlivened by a rich stucco decoration, with winged female herms supporting the string course on the ground floor; ribbons and drapes holding trophies of arms on the first floor; and garlands and masks crowning the windows, with classical figures within oval medallions, on the second. While most of the stucco decoration is attributed to Marcello Sparzo from Urbino, the festive stucco apparatus of the oval-shaped atrium, introducing the latest Mannerist culture to Genoa, was by il Bergamasco himself.

The oldest pictorial work in the building is the cycle of frescoes created in 1623-1624 by the Genoese painter Bernardo Strozzi. For years, it was hidden from view by a thick layer of plaster and false ceiling following a dispute with the client, Luigi Centurione, who had bought the building in 1609 from Nicolosio Lomellino. Uncovered in 2002, the fresco, still unfinished, offers a rare opportunity to observe the grid and the preparatory drawing made with black chalk.

On the second, main floor, the mythological-themed decoration from the early 18th century provides great example of the Genoese late Baroque. In the hall, decorated by Tommaso Aldrovandini, there are five canvases with Stories of Diana, created by the Bolognese painter Marcantonio Franceschini.

Palazzo Cattaneo-Adorno, aka Palazzo Lazzaro e Giacomo Spinola, in Via Garibaldi, is marked by numbers 8 and 10. The attribution of two house numbers is due to the fact that, although integral, the building is made up of two distinctly symmetrical structures, a feature that makes it quite unique.

The cousins Lazzaro and Giacomo Spinola built the palace at number 8 between 1583 and 1588; the one at 10 was built in 1562. The absolute symmetry, conceived by the unknown architect charged with the construction, is equally present in the facades, the layout and the gardens, as evident from the reliefs made by Rubens for his 1622 book on Genoa Palaces. The peculiarity of the double construction is still highlighted today by the presence of two identical portals facing the street.

In 1609, the western wing (number 10) was sold to Filippo Adorno. The Adorno family, whose descendants had kept the property until the 20th century, carried out its interior decoration. In particular, Giovanni Battista Adorno (1566-1638), brother of the buyer, commissioned Lazzaro Tavarone to paint a remarkable cycle of frescoes in the 1620s, featuring the exploits of the Adorno family.

The eastern wing (number 8) had changed hands several times until it finally ended up in the possession of the Cattaneo and Adorno families in the 19th century, following the marriage of Luigi Cattaneo and Viola Adorno, subsequently adopting the current name. The decoration of the eastern wing, featuring 16th-century frescoes by Giovanni Andrea Ansaldo, depicting Stories of Cupid and Psyche, is somewhat modest compared to that of the western wing richly adorned with artwork by Andrea Semino and il Bergamasco.

Throughout its existence, the edifice endured a series of renovations, either at the will of the owners, or following the events of World War II.

Palazzo Campanella, also known as Palazzo di Cristoforo Spinola or Palazzo Baldassarre Lomellini, is located at number 12 in Via Garibaldi. Construction of the palace was commissioned by Baldassarre Lomellini, banker to King Philip II of Spain, and was started in 1562 based on a design by Giovanni Ponzello, the architetto camerale ("chamber architect") of Genoa, who also created Palazzo Tursi belonging to Niccolò Grimaldi, Baldassarre's son-in-law.

Left of the original 16th-century façade now is only the white marble portal, created by Taddeo Carlone, inscribed "venturi non immemor aevi" (remember the years ahead). However, the whole original appearance of the palace can be seen in the engravings of Rubens made in 1622.

The palace changed ownership several times throughout the 16th century, eventually passing into the hands of the Marquis Cristoforo Spinola, Ambassador of the Republic of Genoa to France, who commissioned renovation of the property in the then nascent neoclassical style in 1773.

The most famous work of that period was the so-called Salone del Sole, a grandiloquent masterpiece of architecture and decoration, inspired by the palace of Versailles in France. It became one of the most prestigious destinations of the Grand Tour, remembered by Stendhal and Flaubert. Sadly, the hall was gutted by bombings in 1942, and whatever remained of the original decoration was later removed and never rebuilt.

In 1917, the palace was bought by Tito Campanella who established here an office and residence on the second floor. Today, the first floor is open to the public, where it is possible to see frescoes inspired by Roman motifs, painted by Andrea Semino. On the second floor there are more frescoes, by Giovanni Battista Castello "il Bergamasco", depicting Stories of Aeneas and Dido, and a 19th-century room created in Romantic style by Michele Canzio.

Palazzo Doria-Tursi, aka Palazzo Niccolò Grimaldi, at number 9, is by far the most impressive and important building on Via Garibaldi. Since 1848 it has been the seat of the Genoa City Hall.

The largest palazzo on the street and the only one built on three lots of land, it was begun in 1565 by the Mannerist architects, Domenico and Giovanni Ponzello, for Niccolò Grimaldi, known as "il Monarca" (the Monarch) for a wealth of noble titles that he held, not to mention the innumerable credits against Philip II of Spain, of whom he was the main banker.

The majestic building had two large gardens framing the central body. The lateral loggias overlooking the street were added in 1597, when the palazzo was acquired by Giovanni Andrea Doria for his younger son Carlo, Duke of Tursi, to whom it owes the current name.

The façade, longest on the street, consists of two superimposed orders. It has a white marble portal crowned with the crusader shield, the coat of arms of Genoa, and is characterized by the alternation of materials of different colors: the pink of the Finale stone, the gray-black of the slate, and the fine white of the precious Carrara marble.

Following the annexation of Genoa by the Kingdom of Sardinia, it was purchased by Vittorio Emanuele I of Savoy in 1820, and on that occasion renovated by the court architect Carlo Randoni, who added the clock tower.

As a culmination of the residential splendor of the Genoese aristocracy, the palace boasts an unprecedented and ingenious architectural solution – the succession of interior spaces: atrium, staircase, rectangular courtyard raised above the portico and double ramp staircase, creating a wonderful play of lights and perspectives.

Nowadays, the palace also hosts a museum dedicated mainly to the Italian musician Niccolo Paganini.

Palazzo Rodolfo e Gio Francesco Brignole Sale, otherwise simply referred to as Palazzo Rosso (Red Palace, named so for the distinguished red color), is located at Via Garibaldi, number 18. Built between 1671 and 1677, this was not one of the original 163 Palazzi dei Rolli of Genoa, as the last such list was established in 1664, ten years before the palace was completed.

The construction was commissioned by brothers Rodolfo and Giovanni Francesco Brignole Sale to the Genoese architect, Pietro Antonio Corradi. He proposed a U-shaped plan, with two noble floors, to accommodate two separate residences for each of the brothers. After the death of Rodolfo, Giovanni employed some of the top artists of 17th-century Genoa to decorate the whole building.

In 1746 the current appearance of the facade was defined, characterized by lion protomas marking the architraves of the windows of the two noble floors, depicting a rampant lion under a plum tree, called “brignòle” in Genoese dialect.

The rich art collection, gathered over the years inside the palace, includes the works by the likes of Antoon van Dyck, Guido Reni, Paolo Veronese, Guercino, Gregorio De Ferrari, Albrecht Dürer, Bernardo Strozzi and Mattia Preti. In 1874, the last descendant of the family, Maria Brignole Sale De Ferrari, the Duchess of Galliera, bequeathed the palace along with its art collection to the city of Genoa.

The World War II bombings brought serious damage to the property. In the 1990s, however, based on the historical descriptions, the building was fully restored to its 18th-century splendor.

Today, the distinguished palace forms part of the Strada Nuova Museums, together with Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo Doria Tursi.

The admission fee is Eur 7 on all days, except Sunday.

The White Palace got its name for the plain color of its facade. It was built between 1530 and 1540 by troubadour, politician, and diplomat Luca Grimaldi. Grimaldi was a prominent Genoese family. In 1658 the building became the property of the De Franchi Toso family. In 1711 Federico de Franchi Toso ceded the palace to Maria Durazzo Brignole-Sale to pay off a debt.

From 1714 to 1716, the Durazzos made extensive restorations. It was at this time the palace got its "White" name. In 1899 Maria Brignole-Sale, the last member of the Durazzos family, ceded the property to the municipality to be used as a public gallery. She dedicated the gallery in 1884 to enlarge its collection.

La Donna Maria's penchant for Spanish and Flemish painters stands out. Van Dyck, Rubens, Filippino Lippi, Veronese, and Caravaggio are all represented. The real jewel of the museum is Lucas Cranach the Elder's "Portrait of a Lady." On the upper floors is a captivating collection of 19th and 20th-century fashions.

The White Palace is located on Garibaldi street within the New Street UNESCO World Heritage site. It is easily reached on foot from the city center.

The palace Gerolamo Grimaldi - also known as the Meridian building - it's an uphill building in the historic center of Genoa.

It was built between 1536 and 1544 by the Genoese banker Gerolamo Grimaldi Oliva, who got rich in Portugal and Spain where he managed the collection of taxes in Cordoba and Granada. At the time of construction, it stood in an area with little urbanization and a considerable slope, with access and main front on the slope of San Francesco di Castelletto , as well as two side elevations overlooking gardens upstream and downstream, much praised by the architect Joseph Fürttenbach . The frescoes on the north facade , still visible, depicting the Labors of Herculesthey have been attributed to Aurelio Busso.

The fresco decoration of numerous internal rooms, by Luca Cambiaso , Giovanni Battista Castello , Lazzaro Calvi and others was started between 1556 and 1566 under the commission of Gerolamo's son, Giovanni Battista Grimaldi, owner of the famous Villa Grimaldi called La Fortress in Sampierdarena .

The sixteenth - century building , with the dual character of a decentralized city palace and a suburban villa residence, preserves in its extraordinary ambiguity the secret genesis of an architectural renewal that few have so far clearly denounced in its ancestry.