Palazzos of Via Garibaldi and the Art Collections of the Genovese ~ Palazzo Rosso, Bianco and Doria Tursi

Saturday the 15th of December, 2012

(Today I am officially 1 year behind on blogging this trip! I'm trying to finish by New Years!)

Palazzos of Via Garibaldi

"Strata Nuova"

 Genova, Italy

Isn't this fresco, below, so soft and lovely? Sadly, it looks like it's ready to disappear forever. It was on the front of Palazzo Paolo Battista Nicolò on the Piazza delle Fontane Marose, before you enter Via Garibaldi to the East (I think) …

Anyway, Vincenzo had the day off and it was fun to be able to hang out with him, and see some amazing art and architecture, in his hometown!

Looking North from Piazza delle Fontane Marose, toward Via Interiano ...

Now, in the next photo, we are heading East, into Via Garibaldi, to the Musei di Strada Nuova. 

Via Garibaldi is well known for it's old palaces and dates back to the mid 1500s. Originally it was named Strada Maggiore, then Strada Nuova (the "new street") and then in 1882 it was named for Giuseppe Garibaldi. (Big hero, in these parts and one of the "fathers of the fatherland.")

It's on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites as part of the "Palazzi die Rolli and Strade Nuove del Centro Storico of Genoa." Kind of a mouthful. 

Here's some Italian Baroque Music to go with our Palazzi visits!

I don't know who now owns, or used to own, many of these palazzi on the the street, but obviously some extremely wealthy, influential Genovese, back when Genoa was a very wealthy shipping area. At least one of the Palazzi was turned into a bank.

Palazzo Podesta

1559-1565; 17th Century

built by Givanni Battista Castello

and Bernardo Canton

LOVED this one. It makes me think of Wedgewood, which isn't Italian at all, but am I right?

This little space, between two palaces, was made into a lovely shop … 

Palazzo Rosso

1671-1677

designed by Pietro Antonio Corradi

It's the first stop, on a museum route, through the 3 palaces that have been turned into museums. The other two (Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo Tursi) are just across the street. 

The palace was owned by the Brignole Sale family, until 1874. Then in 1874 it was left to the city of Genoa, by Maria Brignole Sale, duchess of Galliera. Nice, huh? 

By the way, Genoa isn't exactly a hotbed of tourist activity, and you can tell by a visit to the museums in town. Very little is translated. Fortunately, for the most part it's pretty easy to figure out the titles of paintings, especially when the paintings are of saints, which there are a whole lot of.  … San Pietro for Saint Peter and so on. 

Il Padre Eterno con un Angioletto
(The Eternal Father with an Angel)
Guercino, 1620

A whole lot of saints during the counter reformation ...

San Francesco abbracciato al Crocifisso 
(Saint Francis embraced a crucifix)
Bernardo Strozzi (Genova 1581- Venezia 1644)

I couldn't get a good shot of the full painting, below, because of the glare, but how cute is this cow? Almost enough to make me a full vegetarian.

Entrata degli animali nell'arca di Noe'

(Got it? Animals … entering into the ark of Noah …)

il Grechetto (1610 - 1664)

Cristo nell'orto di Getzemani
Carlo Dolci (1616- 1686)

Madonna col Bambino dormiente
Il Sassoferrato (1605 - 1685)

San Gerolamo ode la tromba del Giudizio
(Saint Gerolamo hears the trumpet of judgement)
(but no judgement on a completely extravagant clock!)
Giacinto Brandi (1621-1691)

Ritratto di Giovane, 1506
(Portrait of Youth)
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)

La Madonna della Pappa
Gerard David (1460-1523)

The ceiling of one of the bedrooms ...

This was in a big salon area ...

Looking over to Palazzo Bianco (we are going there, when we are done with Palazzo Rosso)

The baroque frescoes were pretty stunning, as you can see ...

In some areas, the wall and ceiling frescoes become three diminutional reliefs.

There is a giant patio (in the photo, below, lower left corner) and I could just imagine big fabulous parties happening there, baroque music spilling out onto the streets below ...

Vincenzo took this of me ...

You can climb a set of stairs, up to a 360 degree view ...

The following photo is looking down on Palazzo Bianco ... 

Looking toward the huge port of Genoa

Panoramic view of the city

And the huge monstrosity, below. I can't help it. Those cruise ships are way too huge to bring all the way into port. Doesn't it look crazy sitting there? If you can get past that, check out the snowy mountains in the distance!

Palazzo Bianco Courtyard

(looking toward Palazzo Doria Tursi)

Here from the Palazzo Bianco courtyard, you can see Palazzo Rosso behind the little drummer.

Palazzo Bianco

built 1530-1540  

Maria Bignole Sale divested this palace, as well, in the late 1800s, to become a municipal property. "For the formation of a public gallery." 

The collection is amazing and has paintings from the 12th to 17th centuries. Veronese, Rubens, Van Dyck, Zurbaran … I was so excited because I had no idea what was in these palaces! 

Madonna col Bambino e Due Angeli

Domenico Fiasella (1589-1669)

detail from La Famiglia di Gio. 
Vincenzo Imperiale nella Villa di Sampierdarena
Giovanni Battista Casoni (1610-1686)

San Sebastiano Fra i Santi Giovanni Battista e Francesco
(Got that? Saint Sebastian with John the Baptist and Saint Francis)
Fra Filippino Lippi (1457-1504)

detail from San Francesco d'Assisi riceve dall'angeli i sette privilegi
Jusepe de Ribera and a collaborator (1591-1652)

The Penitent Magdalene

Antonio Canova 1796

marble

Vincenzo checking out Roman Emperor Caracalla. Remember the Baths in Rome?

There is a passageway between Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo Tursi. I think the above photo, was in that passage. 

Palazzo Doria Tursi

built 1565 by Domenico and Giovanni Ponsello

for Nicolò Grimaldi

Again, groovy floors, typical of Genoa. (Two examples in the previous post.)

The palace has housed Genoa's town hall/municipal building, since 1848. It still is, but there are galleries open to the public including decorative arts, coins, and the famous violin that belonged to Paganini.

Hospital apothecary Jars. Amazing right?  I think they were 17th century.

In the center courtyard area of Palazzo Tursi

Charles Dickens description of Strada Nuova, in travelogue Pictures from Italy...

...When shall I forget the Streets of Palaces: the Strada Nuova and the Strada Balbi! or how the former looked one summer day, when I first saw it underneath the brightest and most intensely blue of summer skies: which its narrow perspective of immense mansions, reduced to a tapering and most precious strip of brightness, looking down upon the heavy shade below! The endless details of these rich Palaces: the walls of some of them, within, alive with masterpieces by Vandyke! The great, heavy, stone balconies, one above another, and tier over tier: with here and there, one larger than the rest, towering high up—a huge marble platform; the doorless vestibules, massively barred lower windows, immense public staircases, thick marble pillars, strong dungeon-like arches, and dreary, dreaming, echoing vaulted chambers: among which the eye wanders again, and again, and again, as every palace is succeeded by another- the terrace gardens between house and house, with green arches of the vine, and groves of orange-trees, and blushing oleander in full bloom, twenty, thirty, forty feet above the street—the painted halls, mouldering, and blotting, and rotting in the damp corners, and still shining out in beautiful colours and voluptuous designs…

For the link to the Musei Strada Nuova site, click HERE

That's all for now! I have presents to wrap and an apartment to clean!

Hope you're all enjoying the holidays. They can be crazy, but they can also be fun … and even sacred! Just a thought. ;)

Blessings and light!