Friday October 21 was our first cloudy day since we arrived in Genova. There had been a threat of rain, but none materialized. The high was 21C. We went to visit the Musei di Strada Nuova (Strada Nuova Museums), on Via Garibaldi (the former Nuova Strada-New Street).
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| First there was a stop at the Caffè dei Musei for a Pistacchio croissant and coffee |
Since 2004, three former palaces, Palazzo Rosso, Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo Tursi make up the Musei di Strada Nuova. One buys a ticket to visit all three, which are a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The three museums are run by the Municipality of Genova.
The first was the Palazzo Brignole-Sale or Palazzo Rosso (so-named because of its red brick). Built between 1671-1675 for the two brothers Ridolfo (1631-1683) and Gio Francesco I (1643-1694) Brignole- Sale. The construction is unique as it has two piano nobili of equal prestige, one on top of the other. The first level went to Gio Francesco by drawing lots. He later moved to the upper level after his brother's death. There is a large entrance courtyard and a grand staircase.
Palazzo Rosso was not one of the 163 Palazzi dei Rolli of Genova as the last list was completed in 1664. However, as a distinguished 17th century palace in Strada Nuova, it was included in 2006, on the list of 42 palaces which now form part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In 1874, the last descendant of the family, the Duchess of Galliera Maria Brignole-Sale, bequeathed the palace and the her art collectios to the Municipality of Genova. These formed the first nucleus of the art gallery. The palace suffered serious damage as the result of the Allied bombing of the city during WWII, losing part of the artistic heritage, but was restructured during the fifties.
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| Palazzo Rosso - hard to get a photo of entire building as the street is not too wide |
The halls are decorated by prominent painters of the Genoese school and features the Brignole-Sale family's collection of historical furnishings and art collections. There are works by Genoese and other Italian artists as well as foreign artists. Because a number of museums are focussing on the Rubens Genova connection, there were a number of Flemish artists paintings featured. The first were paintings from the series of "Months" painted by Jan Wildens (Antwerp,1586- 1863). Wildens was part of the colony of Flemish artists who chose Genova as the location for their studies in the first quarter of the 17th century. Wildens was one of Rubens's collaborators. Some of the "Months" paintings were already in the Palazzo Rosso's collection, but others were brought in because of the "Rubens in Genoa" exhibit at the Palazzo Ducale. Names of paintings were not translated, so in most cases, I left the Italian names.
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| August |
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| July, 1614 |
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| May |
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| January- Skaters |
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| Willem Key (Breda,1510-Antwerp,1558), Ritratto di dama |
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| Albrecht Dürer (Nuremberg, 1471-1528). Ritratto di giovane, 1506 |
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| Bernardo Strozzi (Genova 1581- Venezia 1644) La cuoca |
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| Strozzi, il pifferale |
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| Francesco Montemezzano (Verona 1555- Venezia 1602) Ritratto di cortigiana |
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| Parrasio Michiel (Venezia 1547-1578) Ritratto di dama |
Anton Giulio II Brignole-Sale (1673- 1710), lived in the mezzanine rooms. These rooms are amazing- decorated by Gregorio de Ferrari and Domenico Parodi. During WWII, the 1942 Allied bombing destroyed a number of rooms with frescos, that could not be duplicated.
There was a room that featured paintings by Rubens' most talented collaborator: Anton Van Dyck (Antwerp 1599-London, 1641), some of them executed during his stay in Genoa from 1621-27.
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| Van Dyck, Paola Adorno Brignole-Sale (1627) |
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| Van Dyck, Anton Giulio Brignole-Sale, 1627 |
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| Ceilings in the Palazzo |
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| Another room |
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| Alonso petting a dog in a hallway |
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| Another decorative ceiling |
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| Jacopo Antonio Boni (Bologne 1688-Genova 1766), Ritratto di Geo Francesco II Brignole-Sale, doge di Genova dal 1746 al 1748 |
There was then a series of restored rooms that was once the apartment on the top floor of Caterina Marcenaro (1906-1976), the Museums' director from 1950-1971. On June 1955, the prestigious architecture magazine Domus published an article about the apartment, designed by Franco Albini (1905-1977). There were four drawing rooms, one with a fireplace designed by Albini. In 2005, it was decided to restore these rooms, with the decor recalling the original as seen in the photos in the Domus article.
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| A bedroom in a small alcove with a view |
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| View from the window |
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| Fireplace |
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| One view of a large living area |
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| Another view |
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| View out another window of the apartment |
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| View of loft area with library |
It was a fabulous apartment--- everything flowed from one area to the next- open concept. Marcenaro lived there after she retired, until her death in 1976.
The last of the Brignole-Sale family, Antonio (1786-1863) with his wife Artemisia Negrone and their daughters Maria (1811-1888) and Luisa (1822-1868) lived in west-facing rooms on the top floor of Palazzo Rosso. These rooms are furnished with some of Antonio's original furnishings as well as French furnishings from Maria's (1811-1888) apartment in the luxurious Hôtel de Matignon in Paris. Maria bequeathed the Palazzo Rosso to the City of Genova ("with the inclusion of the Picture Gallery and Library") in 1874. In her last will, she also donated some furnishings, paintings and personal effects from her Paris dwelling.
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| Young Maria and her parents Antonio Brignole-Sale and Artemisia Negrone |
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| Antonio Brignole, with his grandson Filippo de Ferrari and Luisa |
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| Elegant furnishings |
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| This room had the furnishings from Paris |
Palazzo Rosso had a wonderful collection of paintings as well as the incredibly decorated rooms where the family Brignole-Sale and their descendants lived. We then crossed the street to Palazzo Bianca (known as the "white" palace due to its light exterior plasterwork). The Palazzo had initially been erected by Luca Grimaldi from 1530-40. It was rebuild in 1712 by the Brignole-Sale's who already owned Palazzo Rosso. An art gallery opened at Palazzo Bianco in 1893. In 1942, the Palazzo was seriously damaged during bombings by the British navy. The collections, which had been already safely stored, only had minor damage. The Palazzo was rebuilt in 1949.
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Luca Cambiaso (Moneglia, 1527- Escorial, 1585), Autoritratto del Pittore Che Dipinge il Ritratto del Padre Giovanni
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| Simon Vouet (Paris 1590-1649), David con la testa di Golia |
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Michelangelo Merisi, Caravaggio (Milano, 1571- Porto Ercole 1610), Ecce Homo,
Provenienza ignota |
There was a small room with replicas of the Palazzos on Via Garibaldi.
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| Beautifully done |
We then went through a passageway and up an elevator to the museum in the third Palazzo - the Doria Tursi Palace, built in 1565 for Nicolò Grimaldi, a Genoese banker/financier and one of the main creditors of the Spanish Crown. The Palazzo was erected on three lots of land. Nicolò was known as "The Monarch". However, in 1575, King Philip II of Spain suspended payments to Grimaldi, which was his ruin. In 1593, Gio Andrea Doria bought the building and passed it on to the Dukes of Tursi. From 1838, it housed a college of the Society of Jesus. It passed to the municipality in 1848, and has since that time been the seat of the Town Hall. However, the upper floors house the museum.
There were a few rooms with historic coins and then a few rooms of jars from ancient hospital pharmacies and additional rooms with a collection of Ligurian ceramics.
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Rooms of ceramics-- from Pharmacies
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| Maiolica, Savona, second half of the 18th century |
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| 1774 ceramic pots-pourris |
We then entered the Sala Paganini, which houses two violins owned by the renowned violinist Niccolò Paganini (Genova 1782-Nice 1840).
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| George Patten (1801-1865) Ritratto di Paganini |
There were two violins in the Paganini room. The first was the Sivori violin, built by Jean-Baptise Vuillaume, Paris 1834, owned by Paganini and then sold to his pupil Camillo Sivori. The violin was donated by Camillo Sivori's heirs to the City of Genova in 1894.
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| The "Sivori" violin |
The second violin was called the "Cannone". It was built by Barolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri, known as "del Gesù" (Cremona 1698-1744) in 1743. It was Paganini's favourite violin which he affectionately called "my cannon violin" due to its rich sound. In his will, Paganini bequeathed the
Cannon to his native city, Genova, on the condition that it be
preserved forever. It was given by his heirs to the City of Genoa on July 4, 1851.
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| The "Cannone" |
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| Paganini room with the "Cannone" violin |
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| Looking down into the courtyard |
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| Leaving the Museum and Town Hall |
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| Outside of the Town Hall (Palazzo Tursi) |
We stopped at Pasticceria Profumo, the wonderful pasticceria and confectionary store beside the restaurant we ate at last night (just off Via Garibaldi). We got a few treats.
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| Coloured chocolate candies in jars |
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| Boxes with pictures of the Palazzos on Via Garibaldi |
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| Every display listed allergies (ie lactose, nuts etc) |
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| Unbelievable plate of mushroom shaped meringues. |
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| Where we ate last night-- closed between lunch and dinner |
We headed back to the apartment for a rest before dinner. The square with the murals on our street was full of children playing.
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| The square with the lit murals in the evening on our street |
We headed out to dinner at Trattoria Rosmarino, located near the Palazzo Ducale. We had a wonderful meal- traditional Ligurian cuisine with a modern twist. The restaurant is also part of Slow Food and had a number of daily specials.
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| Alonso awaiting the food |
Alonso had Pescato alla Ligure (fish Ligurian style).
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| Sea bass in a traditional Ligurian sauce- with tomatoes and pine nuts |
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| I had taglierini con sugo di Mare-- pasta with a sea food sauce-- lots of mussels, shrimp and white fish |
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| Close up of Alonzo's fish- delicious |
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| Very comfortable seating |
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| Apricot crostata for dessert |
When we were on our dessert course, about 20 people arrived for a birthday celebration. Two of the women had lights in their hair.
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| Looking into the entrance |
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| On a quiet street just a few metres from the Piazza de Ferrari |
As we headed back to the apartment, we saw that the famous Chiesa des Gesù was open. The original church was built between 569-660 as a place of worship for the Milanese community. It was later demolished and rebuilt by the Jesuits in 1589. The facade was added in 1637 and finished in 1892. The side chapels house some of the most important works of art in Genova. There are two Rubens:
Circumcision (1605) is found behind the high alter; and one of the chapels holds Rubens' pre-1620 masterpiece depicting
Saint Ignatius Healing a Possessed Woman. |
| The Church organ |
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| Rubens, Circumcision 1625 |
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| Rubens, Saint Ignatius Healing a Possessed Woman |
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| Incredible baroque church |
Across from the church, there was a light show taking place on the face of the Palazzo Ducale. It runs from October 20-November 1. Very cool.
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| Light show on the Palazzo Ducale where we had seen the Rubens in Genova exhibit |
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| Another shot |
We walked back a different route passing a number of streets lit with words relating to Genova.
Trofie is the type of pasta served with pesto and
caruggi are the narrow streets in Genova.
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| A number of the narrow streets have words in lights |
Saturday October 22 will be our last full day in Genova. We haven't quite decided our itinerary yet as rain has been forecasted. Sunday we leave for Bologna, the last stop of our adventure.
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