The Palazzo Tommaso Spinola, also known as Palazzo Tomaso Spinola di Luccoli or Palazzo Spinola Pessagno, is a

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...

located in salita di Santa Caterina at number 3 in

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 ...

, included on 13 July

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

in the list of the 42 palaces inscribed in the

Rolli di Genova 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 ...

that became

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

on that date.

History

Situated between the old Spinola di Luccoli square and the Della Rovere square, it was built to a design by the author of the most unpublished palaces of

Mannerism Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...

in Genoa,

Giovan Battista Castello Giovanni Battista Castello (1500 or 1509–1569 or 1579) was an Italian historical painter. Born in Gandino near Bergamo, he is ordinarily termed Il Bergamasco to distinguish him from the other painter (of miniatures) with the identical name f ...

, known as the Bergamasco, between

1558 __NOTOC__ Year 1558 ( MDLVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 7 – French troops, led by Francis, Duke of Guise, take Calais, ...

and

1561 Year 1561 ( MDLXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 31 – The Edict of Orleans suspends the persecution of the Huguenots in ...

for Tommaso Spinola, who kept the palace for only a few years, selling it in 1574 to Luca Negrone. It was included in the third compass of the Rollo 1664. Counted in the

18th century The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave trad ...

among the properties of the Pessagno family, who still owned it at the end of the

19th century The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolis ...

, the palace is now used as a private residence.

Description

Exterior

Bergamasco's «mark», of full Mannerist observance, can be read in the very fine and original design of the

portal Portal often refers to: * Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel Portal may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...

richly elaborated with female herms set in a decoration of various architectural motifs, supporting a broken tympanum with spiral volutes, executed in white marble by sculptors Giacomo Ponzello and Pompeo Bianchi (

1560 Year 1560 ( MDLX) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 7 – In the Kingdom of Scotland, French troops commanded by Henri Cleutin and ...

). However, what is most striking about Bergamasco's decorative work is the relief decoration of the

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

, with its fanciful

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

and

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

quadrature, similar to that executed in the same years by Bergamasco in the palazzo Gio. Vincenzo Imperiale in Campetto — built between 1555 and

— and in palazzo Nicolosio Lomellini in Strada Nuova (

). In contrast to the difficulty of observing it, the decoration of the upper floors of the building shows itself to be extraordinarily elaborate and exceptionally complex, in a superimposition of fantastic beings, monstrous masks, herms in the shape of armour and planetary deities, figures combining clawed legs, fish tails, bird's wings and female faces, with obvious magical and alchemical references extracted from Hermeticism (philosophy).Luciana Muller Profumo, Le Pietre Parlanti, Banca Carige, 1992, pp. 381—400.

Interior

The

atrium (architecture) In architecture, an atrium (plural: atria or atriums) is a large open-air or skylight-covered space surrounded by a building. Atria were a common feature in Ancient Roman dwellings, providing light and ventilation to the interior. Modern atria, ...

is accessible while from the

triforium A triforium is an interior gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be locate ...

, enclosed with glass windows, only part of the staircase can be seen. The interior is richly frescoed from the atrium to the second floor parlours (''Hero in Parnassus'' by

Luca Cambiaso Luca Cambiaso (also known as Luca Cambiasi and Luca Cangiagio (being ''Cangiaxo'' the surname in Ligurian); 18 November 1527 – 6 September 1585) was an Italian painter and draughtsman and the leading artist in Genoa in the 16th century. He i ...

and a similar subject uncertainly attributed to Andrea Semino); in the atrium in particular is a fresco with '' Andromeda naked exposed to the monster'' and, in the

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

above the entrance to the staircase, ''Andromeda welcoming

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (Help:IPA/English, /ˈpɜːrsiəs, -sjuːs/; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus ...

liberator''. File:PalazzoTommasoSpinola.jpg, The portal File:Palazzo Tommaso Spinola 06.jpg, Atrium File:Palazzo Tommaso Spinola 04.jpg, Perseus and Andromeda File:Palazzo Tommaso Spinola 03.jpg

Notes

Sources

Italian sources

* R. Erbentraut, Die Spinola-Fresken des Palazzo Pessagno Pallavicino und die Schlacht von Mühlberg, “Zeitschrift fur Kunstgeschichte”, 4.1990, pp. 537–559. * C. Pastor C., R. Ricci, S. Boj, G. Causa, Gli stucchi di palazzo Spinola-Pessagno a Genova. Un caso peculiare del rapporto fra stucco e ambiente. Analisi dei componenti e dei processi di trasformazione, in Lo Stucco. Cultura, Tecnologia, Conoscenza, Atti del Convegno di Studi Bressanone 10-13 luglio 2001, a cura di G. Biscontin, G. Driussi, pp. 483–493. * E. Poleggi, Genova una civiltà di palazzi, Cinisello Balsamo (Milano) 2002, pp. 72–73 (Palazzo di Tommaso Spinola di Luccoli (1558-1561)). * I. Croce (a cura di), La misura della bellezza. I 42 Palazzi dei Rolli, Genova 2009, pp. 17–18.

Bibliography

Italian sources

* A. M. Parodi (a cura di), "Guida ai palazzi dei Rolli di Genova", Genova, Carige, 2007 * Parma. E (a cura di), "La pittura in Liguria. Il Cinquecento", Genova, Carige, 1999 * Alizeri Federico, (Attribuito a) Manuale del forestiere per la città di Genova, Genova, 1846 pag. 364 * Alizeri Federico, Guida illustrativa del cittadino e del forastiero per la città di Genova e sue adiacenze, Bologna, Forni Editore, 1972 pag. 231 * Poleggi Ennio e Poleggi Fiorella (Presentazione, ricerca iconografica e note a cura di), Descrizione della città di Genova da un anonimo del 1818, Genova, Sagep, 1969 pag. 215 * Ratti Carlo Giuseppe, Istruzione di quanto può vedersi di più bello in Genova in pittura scultura et architettura autore Carlo Giuseppe Ratti pittor genovese, Genova, Ivone Gravier, 1780, pag. 292-293

External links

Palazzo di Tomaso Spinola

Sito Palazzi dei Rolli di Genova

Palazzo Spinola Pessagno
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palazzo Tommaso Spinola Palaces in Genoa World Heritage Sites in Italy