Palazzo Durazzo-Pallavicini in the historic centre of Genoa

Designed by Bartolomeo Bianco for Gio. Agostino Balbi in the early 17th century, this building on Via Balbi in the historic city centre of Genoa links the residential models of Strada Nuova and the compositional solutions of Via Balbi. The palace was added to the Rollo of 1664 in the first Bussolo, the highest category, intended to host cardinals, princes, viceroys and governors.

The architecture features a nucleus of diverging stairs on the courtyard, separated by a monumental staircase - a real path covered by the rooms on the mezzanine floor. While financial problems forced the owner Bartolomeo Balbi to rent out part of the building to Giuseppe Maria Durazzo, the property was eventually sold to Marcello Durazzo in 1710.

Today, the palace houses one of the most important private art collections in Italy, including works by Titian, Francesco Albani, Brueghel the Elder, Carracci, Valerio Castello, Domenichino, Anthony van Dyck, Grechetto, Luca Giordano, Guercino, Magnasco, Mulinaretto, Piola, Procaccini, Reni, Ribera, Rubens and Strozzi. It also contains a large archive holding papers on many members of the families who inhabited the house and influenced Genoa's history.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons