Palazzo dell’Ateneo – former college of the Society of Jesus

Via Balbi 5

Designed by Bartolomeo Bianco from 1634 onwards on the site set aside by the city of Genoa for higher education since the time of the Jesuit Colleges, it unfolds as a continuous succession of volumes extending into the depth of the building. Within the numerous rooms comprising the building, there are bronze sculptures and reliefs by Giambologna, frescoes and decorations by Domenico Parodi, Jacopo Antonio Bruni, Sebastiano Galeotti and Francesco Menzio, as well as the two famous lions created by Francesco Biggi to a design by Domenico Parodi, which adorn the access ramp to the early 18th-century courtyard.

Brief introduction (ITA ENG)

The Decorations (ITA ENG)

The Architecture (ITA ENG)

Albergo dei Poveri

Piazza Emanuele Brignole 2

Construction began in the mid-17th century on commission from the Genoese patrician Emanuele Brignole; due to its location, it is visible even when approaching Genoa by sea. Used for charitable purposes until the end of the 20th century, it was acquired by the University of Genoa in 2003 under a 50-year lease. Inside, it houses a church whose high altar is dominated by Pierre Puget’s 17th-century statue of the Immaculate Conception.

Brief introduction (ITA ENG)

Palazzo Balbi Cattaneo

Via Balbi 2

The "Balbi family’s ‘Domus Magna’, part of the Rolli Palaces system since 1588 and completely renovated from 1776 onwards, boasts a majestic double-height atrium, a large terrace and a valuable collection of paintings, including works by Gio. Enrico Vaymer.

Brief introduction (ITA ENG)

Palazzo Balbi Senarega

Via Balbi 4

A jewel of Baroque architecture it comprises a succession of enclosed and open spaces linked by a gallery featuring a decorative cycle of frescoes to which Valerio Castello, Domenico Piola, Gregorio De Ferrari and Giovanni Andrea Carlone contributed.

Built in 1618 for the brothers Giacomo and Pantaleo Balbi, to a design by the architect Bartolomeo Bianco, the palace was the first in Genoa to feature the innovative design of two superimposed main storeys. Around 1645, Pietro Antonio Corradi was commissioned by Giacomo Balbi’s son, Francesco Maria (1619–1704), who, towards the end of the 1650s and the early 1660s, commissioned the magnificent cycle of frescoes that adorns the second noble floor, now part of the School of Humanities at theUniversity of Genoa. The vaults of the halls and galleries are still adorned with mythological figures depicting the stories of the Rape of Proserpina and the Triumph of Time (Valerio Castello, painted between 1655 and 1659), of Apollo amongst the Muses (Domenico Piola, painted around 1668) and the Loves of the Gods (Gregorio de Ferrari, painted around 1693). Of great beauty and value is the nymphaeum on the ground floor, which features large stucco statues by Giovanni Battista Barberini, modelled around 1670 to bring to life the myth of Proserpina, which already featured prominently in the colourful frescoes of the Castello in the gallery overlooking the garden.

It is one of the 42 Rolli palaces designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It houses the departments of the School of Humanities at the University of Genoa.

What to see

The cycle of frescoes on the second piano nobile is an absolute must-see; it now adorns the ceilings of the libraries of the DIRAAS and DAFIST departments. The cycle represents the highest quality fresco work produced in Genoa during the 17th century and is now one of the most important in Liguria and Northern Italy.

Brief overview (ITA ENG)

Extended presentation (ITA)

Floor plan of the decorations (ITA ENG)

Palazzo Balbi Raggio

Via Balbi 6

A multi-layered building whose construction spans more than two centuries of Genoese history. The historic residence of Doge Francesco Maria Balbi, it was subsequently renovated on commission from Francesco Maria Durazzo and later from Edilio Raggio, who gave it the features it still retains today.

Brief presentation (ITA ENG)

Palazzo De Ferrari Chiavari Belimbau

Piazza della Nunziata 2

The palace was built between the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, to a design by Andrea Ceresole, known as ‘il Vannone’, by Francesco De Ferrari, a member of a family of ‘new nobility’ who had, however, married the wealthy and aristocratic Delia Giustiniani. It is one of the ‘Rolli’ palaces designated as a UNESCO World Heritage SiteUNESCO World Heritage Sites: in the Rollo of 1614, it is listed in the section identifying the palaces deemed worthy of hosting princes, ambassadors and other distinguished figures. The current façade was constructed around 1780 following the renovation commissioned by Andrea Cambiaso and carried out by Giovanni Battista Pellegrini. Damaged during the Second World War and used as offices, it was donated by the Belimbau heirs to thethe University in 1999.

At some unspecified time after the death of Gio. Francesco (1611), the palace was rented by the Chiavari family, before passing to the Cambiaso family who, from 1780 onwards, commissioned a general renovation of thebuilding to the architect Giovanni Battista Pellegrini. The work led to the creation of the current façade overlooking the square – which has recently been restored – and the grand staircase, whilst also bringing about significant alterations to the interior spaces. Finally, after being sold to the Negrotto Cambiaso family in the first two decades of the 19th century, the palace passed to the Cohen Belimbau family in 1890. The family recently donated it to the University of Genoa, which has begun extensive restoration work. Gio. Francesco De Ferrari was also responsible for the fresco decoration that adorns the palace, for which Lazzaro Tavarone, a pupil of Luca Cambiaso, was commissioned. By depicting in theentrance hall and on the ceilings of the grand staircase the story of Cleopatra, who, with her majesty and power, captivates the Roman general Mark Antony, he perhaps sought to celebrate the beauty of Delia Giustiniani, a woman of noble lineage and undoubted power. The story of Christopher Columbus, on the other hand, a true self--made man, which are depicted on the vault of the grand hall on the piano nobile, celebrate the legitimisation of a family such as the De Ferrari, who, rising from humble origins, had attained – through sheer willpower and daring, just like Columbus – the highest honours of the nobility.

What to see

The main floor hall preserves the first cycle of frescoes depicting the life of Christopher Columbus, a work of extraordinary artistic and documentary importance. The palace, which will shortly undergo conservation work on all its wall surfaces and interior decorations, also houses a collection of paintings recently restored and exhibited in the first-floor rooms by the University of Genoa.

Brief presentation (ITA ENG)

Architecture

Stradone di Sant’Agostino, 37

The architectural complex stands on a site with a very ancient history and countless layers of settlement. After the Second World War, the site was subject to a regeneration plan designed by the architect Ignazio Gardella.

TThe Sarzano area was the site of the oldest Ligurian-Etruscan settlement known today in relation to the city of Genoa: the artefacts unearthed – partly due to the destruction caused by Allied bombs during the Second World War – date back some 2,500 years. From the 9th and 10th centuries AD, the site was subsequently used as a fortified castrum and the residence of the Bishop, the highest religious authority in the entire region. Continuously transformed since its transfer to the Dominican nuns in the mid-fifteenth century, the spaces – including those dating from the 17th century – continued, as they still do today, to be arranged around the main cloister. The complex was enriched with works of art of considerable importance, such as sculptures by Taddeo Carlone, Tomaso Orsolino and Giacomo Gagini (the convent’s portal – created by the latter in 1707 – is now housed in Palazzo Rosso) and other decorative elements, unfortunately largely lost due to war damage. In the post-war period, the area underwent a regeneration scheme designed by Ignazio Gardella and Silvano Larini, which, approved in 1972, was implemented in the late 1980s thanks to the strong determination of the Dean of the then Faculty of Architecture, Edoardo Benvenuto. Today, these fully restored and revitalised spaces house the Department of Architecture and Design, which forms part of the Polytechnic School of the University of Genoa.

What to see

The contrast between Gardella’s contemporary architecture and the medieval setting provided by the churches of Sant’Agostino and San Donato is striking and fascinating: it clearly highlights theimportance of dialogue between different architectural styles and the possibility of a coexistence that mutually enhances their distinct characteristics. The upper courtyard of the nuns’ convent and the Bishop’s Balcony are an absolute must-see; from here, you can enjoy an extraordinary panorama that takes in the old town from Porta Soprana to the Porto Antico, before sweeping out towards the ‘modern’ city ‘modern’ city, including the Matitone area and the new skyscrapers, all the way to the ancient Lanterna lighthouse.

Villa Giustiniani Cambiaso

Via Montallegro 1

Commissioned by Luca I Giustiniani and designed by Galeazzo Alessi in 1548, Villa Giustiniani Cambiaso is one of the most interesting architectural works of 16th-century Genoa, thanks to the virtuosity with which Alessi managed to create a dialogue between the villa and the landscape and to compose its volumes, drawing on both classical tradition and the innovations of the Renaissance and Roman Mannerism.
The villa became the property of the City of Genoa and, since 1921, has housed the Engineering Department of the University of Genoa.

Brief presentation (ITA ENG)

Villa Bonino

Viale Causa 13

The villa is a fine example of the integration between architectural design and the natural landscape characteristic of Genoa during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; the villa’s interiors feature motifs typical of sixteenth-century architectural tradition alongside nineteenth-century decorative elements.
Since 1976, the villa has housed engineering studios and offices.

Brief presentation (ITA ENG)

 

 

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