The Palazzo Angelo Giovanni Spinola is a

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

located in

Via Garibaldi Via or VIA may refer to the following: Science and technology * MOS Technology 6522, Versatile Interface Adapter * ''Via'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Noctuidae * Via (electronics), a through-connection * VIA Technologies, a Taiwan ...

, in the historical center of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

, in Northwestern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It was one of the 163

Palazzi dei Rolli Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which includes a number of streets and palaces in the center of Genoa, in Northwestern Italy. * The ''Strade Nuove'' (Italian for "New Streets") are a ...

of Genoa, the selected private residences where the notable guests of the Republic of Genoa were hosted during State visits. On 13 luglio del 2006 it was included in the list of 42 palaces which now form the UNESCO World Heritage Site Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli. Now owned by a bank, it is possible to visit the areas open to the public.

The ''Rolli'' of Genoa

The ''Rolli di Genova'' - or, more precisely, the ''Rolli degli alloggiamenti pubblici di Genova'' (Italian for "Lists of the public lodgings of Genoa") were the official lists at the time of the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...

of the private palaces and mansions, belonging to the most distinguished Genoese families, which - if chosen through a public lottery - were obliged to host on behalf of the Government the most notable visitors during their State visit to the Republic. Later, these palaces hosted many famous visitors to Genoa during their

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

, a cultural itinerary around Italy

History

The construction of the palace was commissioned in 1558 by Angelo Giovanni Spinola, Ambassador of the

to Spain and banker in Toledo to

Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) ...

. The palace was completed in 1576 by his son Giulio, who also ordered in 1580 the excavation of part of the hill behind the palace to expand it with a courtyard and a garden. The building was designed by the architect . In 1919, the palace was sold to the bank

Crédit Commercial de France The ''Crédit Commercial de France'' (CCF, "Commercial Credit ompanyof France") is a commercial bank in France, founded in 1894 as the ''Banque Suisse et Française'' and renamed to CCF in 1917. By the end of the 1920s, it had grown to be the six ...

and was converted into an office building. In 1926, it passed to the Banca d'America e d'Italia and now belongs to

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

. The facade of the palace is decorated with frescoes executed by the Calvi brothers, possibly together with

Lazzaro Tavarone Lazzaro Tavarone (1556–1641) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance and Mannerism, Mannerist period, active mainly in his native Genoa and in Spain. He was the pupil of the painter Luca Cambiasi. Tavarone accompanied Cambiaso to Spain i ...

. The frescoes depict members of the

House of Spinola The House of Spinola, or Spinola family, was a leading Italian political family centered in the Republic of Genoa. Their influence was at its greatest extent in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Important members Guido Spinola was one o ...

dressed as Roman

condottieri ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europ ...

. A staircase decorated by

grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

frescoes leads to the upper floor, decorated with frescoes by Andrea Semino,

Bernardo Castello Bernardo Castello (or Castelli) (1557–1629) was an Italian painter of the late-Mannerist style, active mainly in Genoa and Liguria. He is mainly known as a portrait painter, portrait and historical painter.He needs to be distinguished from Giov ...

and Lazzaro Tavarone. A fresco attributed to Semino shows the building in its original state, as viewed from a mountain.

References

Gallery

Genova-DSCF7472.JPG, Palazzo Angelo Giovanni Spinola, Main entrance PalazzoAngeloGiovanniSpinola2.jpg, Palazzo Angelo Giovanni Spinola, frescoes on the facade Palazzo Angelo Giovanni Spinola, androne con affreschi dei fratelli calvi, 11.JPG, Palazzo Angelo Giovanni Spinola, frescoes of the atrium Palazzo Angelo Giovanni Spinola, androne con affreschi dei fratelli calvi, 01.JPG, Palazzo Angelo Giovanni Spinola, frescoes of the atrium

Bibliography

* Gioconda Pomella (2007), Guida Completa ai Palazzi dei Rolli Genova, Genova, De Ferrari Editore() * Mauro Quercioli (2008), I Palazzi dei Rolli di Genova, Roma, Libreria dello Stato () * Fiorella Caraceni Poleggi (2001), Palazzi Antichi e Moderni di Genova raccolti e disegnati da Pietro Paolo Rubens (1652), Genova, Tormena Editore () * Mario Labò (2003), I palazzi di Genova di P.P. Rubens, Genova, Nuova Editrice Genovese {{Authority control Palaces in Genoa Spinola family Houses completed in 1578 Mannerist architecture in Italy Bank buildings in Italy Palazzi dei Rolli