Palazzo Spinola Genoa, Italy

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Palazzo Spinola

6 Piazza Fontane Marose

Genoa, Italy

phone: +39 011 535 181

Built by Giacomo Spinola in 1445-59, at the top of Via Luccoli, a noble 14th century residential district, the palazzo faces the Piazza Fontane Marose, once an arena for tournaments, and today an important link between Via Garibaldi and Via XXV Aprile. It is characterised by a black and white façade, an honour reserved solely for the four principal families of the city (Doria, Spinola, Fieschi and Grimaldi). The palazzo anticipated by almost a century the Genovese trait of building up onto the hillside behind, exploiting the slope and giving rise to unexpected internal gardens, ponds and terraces. The opening of the Via XXV Aprile in the nineteenth century and the subsequent lowering of the level of the piazza, as well as the twentieth century restorations, especially the 'medieval revival' cleaning, produced the current building which however retains all the noble characteristics of the original. The five late medieval statues on the facade were intentional self-promotion by the Spinola family. They were made by the Bissoni family, Lombard sculptors active in Genova between the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth centuries. This building is not open to the public as it is the headquarter of a bank.

Category:

Tourist Attractions & Sightseeing
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Neighborhood:

Downtown
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