Doge's Palace, Genoa
Former seat of the Genoese Republic, now a cultural centre with state rooms, prisons and a tower.
The Doge's Palace grew from two adjoining medieval buildings that the Republic of Genoa acquired from 1291 to house its government, absorbing the twelfth-century Grimaldina tower. Between 1591 and 1597 Andrea Ceresola, known as il Vannone, unified the complex around two arcaded courtyards and gave it a monumental staircase. After a fire in 1777 destroyed much of the interior, Simone Cantoni rebuilt the council halls and added the neoclassical façade of white stone and stucco that faces Piazza Matteotti.
The palace lost its governmental role when the Republic fell in 1797 and later served as law courts before a long restoration returned it to public use for the Columbus celebrations of 1992. It is now run by the Palazzo Ducale Fondazione per la Cultura, which programmes major loan exhibitions, conferences and concerts. Visitors can also see the Doge's Apartment and chapel, the Major and Minor Council halls, the historic prisons in the roof space and the panoramic top of the Grimaldina tower.
Highlights
- Grimaldina tower with a panoramic view over the old city
- Historic prisons in the roof space, with inmates' graffiti
- Doge's Apartment and frescoed chapel by Giovanni Battista Carlone
- Two arcaded courtyards from il Vannone's rebuilding of the 1590s
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