The nobleman Stefano Balbi, starting in 1643, had a sumptuous palace built and decorated along the road where, on his own initiative, his family was creating a real monumental quarter. The palace passed in 1674 to the Durrës, who for a century and a half will continue to expand it, creating an articulated and spectacular complex that reaches out onto the sea with terraces and gardens, one of the largest six - eighteenth-century buildings in the city. Inside, frescoes and decorations entrusted to the best artists of their time are flanked by an impressive art collection, started by the Balbi and continued by Durazzo.

In 1824 the palace was bought by the Savoys, and for this reason it became the "Royal Palace". Even the Savoy add monumental spaces and make redecorate environments, adding another chapter to the charm of this residence, which has preserved over time also the furnishings, precious examples of the most refined cabinetmaking between the six and the nineteenth century, and then ceramics, tapestries, furnishings.

The painting includes names such as Anton Van Dyck, Tintoretto, Guercino, Luca Giordano, Ferdinand Voet and Bassano. The sequence of frescoed rooms, with the presence of artists such as Valerio Castello and Giovan Battista Carlone, culminates in the grandiose Gallery of Mirrors, where an extraordinary fresco decoration and gilded stucco designed and made by Domenico Parodi meets classical sculptures, works by Filippo Parodi and a shining game of furniture and mirrors.

In 1919 the Savoys donated the palace to the State, which comes down to us as the Royal Palace Museum.

To learn more about the collections of the Palace and for all the information for the visit, here is the link to the official website: https://palazzorealegenova.cultura.gov.it/

To learn more about the history of the Palace, here is the link to the page on the website Rolli e Strade Nuove: https://www.rolliestradenuove.it/rollo/30-palazzo-di-stefano-balbi/