Genoa
Via Balbi
A Road for a Family
Via Balbi
Genova, 16126
Nearest Train: Linee autobus 18, 19, 20, 35, 41, F.S. Staz. Principe
Phone: +39 010 868 7452
Conceived at the beginning of the seventeenth century as an imitation of the Strada Nuova (Via Garibaldi), this road was in fact built for a single family, the Balbi, who owned the entire area. The Balbi decided to create their "district" here, having increased their fortunes dramatically after the beginning of the silk trade, due to a sequence of entrepreneurial activity abroad (in Anversa and Spain), after having arranged several marriages of convenience with other rising families. To achieve this, they commissioned the architect Bartolomeo Bianco to build several of their sumptuous palaces, as well as to design the streets named by them. In an urban regeneration which took most of the seventeenth century, several residences were constructed: the Palazzo di Gio Francesco Balbi, that of Giacomo and Pantaleo Balbi, today the Palazzo Balbi Senarega of the University of Genoa, the Palazzo of Francesco Maria Balbi, that of Stefano Balbi, later Durazzo, which today houses the Galleria Nazionale di Palazzo Reale and the Falcone Theatre, the Palazzo of Gio Agostino Balbi now named Cattaneo Adorno, the church of Saints Jerome and Frances Saverio and the Jesuit College, today the Palazzo dell'Università and university library, and finally St Charles' church.
Open Hours: Richiesta per le ore
Community
- Travelers' Reviews
- Join other travelers in discussing the best places to eat, sleep and visit while on your vacation.
- Share Your Photos and Video
- Show your fellow travelers the world as you've seen it through the lens of your camera.
Copyright © 1999-2009 wcities.com all right reserved
