Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli

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A Journey Through Time: Exploring Genoa's Le Strade Nuove and the Palazzi dei Rolli

In the heart of Genoa, a bustling port city in northwestern Italy, lies a testament to the grandeur and ambition of the Republic of Genoa during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This UNESCO World Heritage Site, known as Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli, offers a unique blend of history, architecture, and cultural significance that continues to captivate visitors today.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

The Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli in Genoa’s historic centre date from the late 16th and early 17th centuries when the Republic of Genoa was at the height of its financial and seafaring power. The site represents the first example in Europe of an urban development project parcelled out by a public authority within a unitary framework and associated to a particular system of ‘public lodging’ in private residences, as decreed by the Senate in 1576. The site includes an ensemble of Renaissance and Baroque palaces along the so-called ‘new streets’ (Strade Nuove). The Palazzi dei Rolli offer an extraordinary variety of different solutions, achieving universal value in adapting to the particular characteristics of the site and to the requirements of a specific social and economic organization. They also offer an original example of a public network of private residences designated to host state visits.

UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site

Criterion (ii): The ensemble of the Strade Nuove and the related palaces exhibit an important interchange of values on the development of architecture and town planning in the 16th and 17th centuries. Through the architectural treatises of the time, these examples were publicized making the Strade Nuove and the late-Renaissance palaces of Genoa a significant landmark in the development of Mannerist and Baroque architecture in Europe.

Criterion (iv): The Strade Nuove in Genoa are an outstanding example of an urban ensemble consisting of aristocratic palaces of high architectural value, which illustrate the economy and politics of the mercantile city of Genoa at the height of its power in the 16th and 17th centuries. The project proposed a new and innovative spirit that characterized the Siglo de los Genoveses (1563 to 1640). In 1576, the Republic of Genoa established a legally based list of Rolli recognizing the most outstanding palaces for official lodging of distinguished guests.

Encyclopedia Record: Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli

Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which includes a number of streets and palaces in the center of Genoa, in Northwestern Italy.The Strade Nuove are a group of streets built by the Genoese aristocracy during the expansion of the city at a time when the Republic of Genoa was at the height of its financial and seafaring power. These are Via Giuseppe Garibaldi and Via Balbi, later followed by Via Cairoli. The Palazzi dei Rolli are a group of palaces - most of which also date from the late 16th and early 17th centuries - which were associated to a particular system of ‘public lodging’ in private residences, whereby notable guests on State visit to the Republic were hosted in one of these palaces on behalf of the State.

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