Explore Villa del Principe, the largest and most sumptuous noble residence in Genoa. Admire the refined decorative painting, starting with the work of Perino del Vaga, an artist of great culture and modern expressiveness.

The Villa del Principe is the largest and most sumptuous noble residence in the city of Genoa. Construction works on the complex began in the 1520s at the behest of Andrea Doria, a gifted admiral and legendary man of arms.

The Palace is memorable for its refined decorative painting, starting with the work of Perino del Vaga, an artist of great culture and modern expressiveness, who had been introduced to Andrea Doria.

It was in the Villa that Perino, a pupil of Raphael at the forefront of the Roman art scene in the years preceding the Sack of Rome (1527), created one of the most important Renaissance pictorial cycles in northern Italy.

Together with his wife Peretta Usodimare, Andrea Doria gave life to a Renaissance court in the Villa, which boasted works by first-rate artists including Girolamo da Treviso, Beccafumi, Pordenone and Silvio Cosini.

In 1533 Emperor Charles V, was welcomed to Genoa with all due honours, and stayed in the Palace, home of his admiral Andrea Doria.

The monumental building complex was enlarged and enriched with new works of art by Andrea Doria’s heir, Giovanni Andrea I, and was the home of future generations of the Doria Pamphilj family for almost five centuries. Many paintings, tapestries and precious furnishings were collected here.

Today, the Villa del Principe is a museum full of hidden treasures, and you can relive its splendour walking through its rooms and marvelling at its splendid frescoes and spectacular tapestries.