Spinola designation:
Palazzo di Massimiliano Spinola
Current name:
Palazzo Doria Spinola, Prefettura, Amministrazione Provinciale
Current owner:
Prefecture, Province of Genoa
State of conservation:
excellent
Dates of construction:
1541 – 1543
Architect: Bernardino Cantone (?) and Giovanni Battista Castello Il Bergamasco (?)
On the spinola.it site we are working on the revision of all the repertoires.
Many of these are still to be updated in content and formatting.
The palazzo is laid out in the Lombardian style. The reliefs in the book by Rubens help to reveal the volume of the palazzo, as well as the succession of spaces as they were planned. This spaciousness corresponded to the client’s desire for greater prestige. The hand of the Spinolas is evident in Gauthier’s drawings: spaces were added on the western side of the palazzo for the stable and for the storage of carriages, leading straight into the rear courtyard. Gauthier’s plan hints at the Gallery the Spinolas added that was lost when the via Roma was created. The Lerma branch of the Spinolas, who succeeded the San Pietro branch as owners, embellished the palazzo with a theatre, the Sala Sivori.
Palazzo Doria Spinola, Prefettura, Amministrazione Provinciale
Largo Eros Lanfranco, 1 – Genoa
Visibility:
exterior and interior, only the common areas may be seen (atrium, courtyard, upper gallery)
Built in 1543 by Antonio Doria, the palazzo was entered in the system of the Rolli in 1576, 1588, 1599, 1614, and 1664. By 1624 it belonged to the San Pietro branch of the Spinolas, who modified the facade. In 1876 the Lerma branch of the Spinolas sold the palazzo to the City of Genoa, which subsequently sold it to the Province of Genoa in 1879.
The palazzo has two decorated exterior walls, and two entrances. The principal one is on Largo Eros Lanfranco, and the secondary one is on the Piazza Corvetto. The exterior decoration was entrusted to Lazzaro and Pantaleo Calvi, who worked on it between 1543 and 1544. On the main facade, easily visible between the second and third floors and lined up with the doorway, are the heraldic arms of the Spinolas. A good portion of the fresco work in the Salons was done by Luca Cambiaso.


AA.VV., Genua Picta. Proposte per la scoperta e il recupero delle facciate dipinte, Genova 1982, pp. 161-167 e 256-258 (testo indicato per un approfondimento circa gli affreschi sui prospetti dell’edificio)
Vico San Luca, 1
16123 Genoa, Italy
c.f. 95023180102
Made by Totalsolution | Design by lucastauder.it