Villa del Principe

History

Andrea Doria (Oneglia, 1466 – Genova, 1560) was a Genoese aristocrat, statesman and naval commander who served for many years in the Genoese navy, as well as offering his services as mercenary commander.

In 1528, when Genoa was under French military occupation, he attacked the harbor with thirteen galeas and took control of the city. Once the battle was over, he was offered to become the Head of State, but he declined the offer saying that he was “not interested in the perks of power, but only in the independence and prosperity of the Republic”. Realistically, many historians believe that his decision to decline the offer was dictated by his cautious approach and his deep knowledge of the Genoese political landscape.

The Doria family, one of the most illustrious among the Genoese nobility, had its quarters in the heart of the city, around the Church of San Matteo, a Romanic church under their patronage and burial place of the family from its foundation in 1125. On 12 September 1528, after the liberation of the city from the French, Andrea pronounced his non acceptance speech from the stairs of that iconic church. On the same day he received, as a thank you gift from the Senate, the Lazzaro Doria Palace in Piazza San Matteo, which he never inhabited. Instead, he preferred to live outside the city, where he could continue to wield considerable power on the life of the Republic without being entangled in lesser political skirmishes. Thus, twelve reformers were appointed to write the new Constitution, which sanctioned the status of Genoa as an oligarchic republic, and consecrated Andrea Doria as "Censor for life" and ‘Father of the Motherland”. …

Description

The Northern façade on Via San Benedetto is characterized by simple architectural lines, with a portal realized by Perino del Vaga and Silvio Cosini, surmounted by the coat of arms of the Doria family and the Latin motto "Fundavit eam Altissimus" (English: "God the Most High founded it”). The southern façade is an intricate combination of monumental loggias and colonnades overlooking the Italian gardens.

The architectural units preceding the renovation by Perin del Vaga are not fully integrated, as the interest of the architect was mainly decorative, rather than structural. His intervention, however, is clearly visible in the creation of the Loggia degli Eroi, with its different style as compared with the Corinthian column of the underlying colonnade. The lateral loggias, with a Serlian design, are later additions that contribute to the overall grandiosity of the building.

The pictorial decoration of the exterior, vastly celebrated already at the time of the reconstruction of the villa, was attributed to Girolamo da Treviso, Domenico Beccafumi and to Il Pordenone. It is now lost but still worth noting doe to the great influence that it exerted on the Genoese painting school of the 16th century, from Antonio, Ottavio and Andrea Semino to Luca Cambiaso.

The interior still preserves a decoration of great impact and a large art collection, including paintings of Sebastiano del Piombo, Domenico Piola and the Bronzino.

The Loggia degli Eroi (English: “Loggia of the Heroes”) was decorated by Perino del Vaga with a wide set of frescoes and stuccoes according to mythological themes. In the vaults are depicted the Forefathers of the Dorias and the Roman Virtues.

These frescoes were already celebrated at the time of their execution and mentioned with great praise by Giorgio Vasari in his biography of Perino del Vaga in 1568. …