Palazzo Ayrolo Negrone (Ayrolo Negrone Palace), Genoa

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.