Built from 1550, Palazzo Bianco is the oldest but also the most recent of the sumptuous buildings overlooking "Strada Nuova". The Palace was built between 1530 and 1540 for Luca Grimaldi, a member of one of the most important Genoese families, today remain only the two large statues Pierre Franqueville (1585) of Jupiter and Janus which dominate the staircase. In 1711, after several changes of ownership, the Palace was bought by Maria Durazzo Brignole Sale and completely renovated and redecorated; already at the end of the eighteenth century the Brignole Sale no longer use it as their home, but rent it.

Palazzo Bianco is part of the imposing legacy of the Duchess of Galliera, Maria Brignole Sale De Ferrari, the last heir of the family. In her will, the Duchess entrusted it to the City of Genoa for "the formation of a public gallery" to host the civic art collections; a different use than Palazzo Rosso, which considers a monument to his family.

The collection of Palazzo Bianco, in addition to the works of art owned by the City and those left by the Duchess of Galliera, continued to be enriched by other donations and acquisitions of the City of Genoa, ranging through Genoese painting, from the Fourth to the Eighteenth century. From Filippino Lippi and Hans Memling and Gerard David, from Caravaggio and Simon Vouet to Rubens, Van Dyck, Zurbaran and Murillo, from Luca Cambiaso to Domenico Fiasella and Gioachino Assereto, to the extraordinary collection from Casa Piola, and to Alessandro Magnasco, Palazzo Bianco today represents the most important art gallery in Liguria.

Inserted since 2004 within the complex of the Museums of Strada Nuova, Palazzo Bianco has recently expanded its museum path with the external spaces of the rear garden, which includes the remains of the medieval church of San Francesco di Castelletto, demolished in the early nineteenth century.
 

To learn more about the collections of the Palace and for all the information for the visit, here is the link to the Museums of Genoa: https://www.museidigenova.it/it/musei-di-strada-nuova

To learn more about the history of the Palace, here is the link to the page on the Rolli and Strade Nuove website: https://www.rolliestradenuove.it/rollo/18-palazzo-di-luca-grimaldi/