In search of art treasures

It is spring and lovely sunshine!

In my second hometown, Genoa, the ground-floor commercial spaces of buildings are packed with eyewear shops. These shops are seemingly essential due to:

a) fashion trends constantly evolving, and b) Liguria’s abundance of sunny days throughout the year. As I walk home and dive into the alleys of Genoa’s old town (called caruggi in Italian), I can push my sunglasses to the top of my head, as the dim, cobblestone alleys don’t have the dazzling sunlight. My steps and voice echo off the walls of tall, old buildings, and the different scents, color palettes, and architecture reveal their sociocultural story of the region’s settlement and inhabitants from time immemorial to this day.

Lunetti nro 1 ”Kerubi”   Valokuva: Stefano Galati (2025)

Our residential building was constructed within a few years of Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli’s births.

The house where our apartment is situated was built in the 1450s, meaning it has witnessed many historical periods. In the same neighborhood, excavations have uncovered an even older layer of the city beneath the floor of a significant building, dating back to around the 1200–1300s.

I find it fascinating to think that we are likely living atop a medieval city, but already in the second layer. The house was built by an aristocrat Brancaleone Grillo, who served as an ambassador to the Pope and the King of Spain, for his family’s residence. A few decades later, Doge Luca Spinola, the leader of the Republic of Genoa, purchased the residence as part of his impressive palace empire.

It is difficult to visualize daily life around the block in the past few centuries and even more challenging is imagining life in the 1500s or 1200s. Thankfully, there are brilliant films and historical accounts to enrich our understanding, and fortunately, Italy practices architectural preservation, which is undoubtedly a significant expense for both Italy and the EU.

This leads to our tiny role in safeguarding Italy’s cultural heritage. Our home is part of a large, historical building with an inner courtyard, listed in the so-called Rolli List. In 1576, the Senate of the Republic of Genoa created the lists “Rolli degli alloggiamenti pubblici,” which contained the city’s most important aristocratic palaces. Because Genoa’s visiting diplomats, dignitaries, and aristocratic guests couldn’t all be hosted in the ruler’s (Doge’s) palace due to political and logistical reasons, the owners of palaces included in the lists were required to host these guests in their residences.

This model of public hospitality is unique in history, and thanks to its international visitors, Genoa became renowned throughout Europe for its architectural quality and refined lifestyle.

Since 2006, 42 of these palaces have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Naturally, buildings classified as culturally and historically valuable are protected (vincolato), and any renovations or restoration actions require a detailed project plan prepared by a certified expert, such as an architect, approval from the Soprintendenza (heritage protection authority), and oversight of the project.

The local Soprintendenza, the supervisory authority for cultural heritage protection, operates as an office under the Italian Ministry of Culture in the Genoa and La Spezia provinces. All project applications related to archaeology, art, and landscape areas pass through this very busy woman’s desk.

Although our apartment is less than 100m² in size, a lot of time was spent drafting and having projects approved by the necessary authorities. We received the keys to the apartment in July 2022, and our project is expected to be completed by summer 2025. You can imagine we have our fingers crossed that the final stretch proceeds smoothly.

The slow progress has had its advantages, allowing us time to ponder our interior design plans, dream about different centuries’ decor styles, and deepen our knowledge of Genoa’s and Italy’s history, architecture, and art. Networking with professionals in construction and design, as well as handling orders, has naturally been time-consuming.

After an italian top restorer, Livia Pecchioli, carried out an investigation a couple of years ago, we discovered that there were frescoes painted during the building’s early years hidden beneath paint layers at the top edge and ceiling of our apartment’s kitchen. Due to the delay in starting the renovation, the team only managed to begin restoring them this March, and we anxiously awaited to see what kind of artwork would emerge from beneath the paint and its condition.

There were 11 layers of paint accumulated over the original artwork throughout the ages, with the older layers being lime paints in different pastel shades and the newest layer being white "plastic paint."

The restorer worked on two lunette-shaped (semi-circular, archway-like) wall areas, and from them, grotesque-style decorations dating back to the building’s first decades were revealed.  

Lunetti nro 2 ”kakkuvati” Valokuva: Stefano Galati (2025)

This was splendid news! The restoration report stated that they were made using a semi-fresco technique, meaning the painting was created on nearly dry plaster. The grotesque style includes creatures, human figures, and other nature-inspired motifs, cherubs, vases, and garlands from a fantasy world. These delicate and imaginative patterns are often painted symmetrically on a white or otherwise monochromatic background, occasionally featuring monstrous and fierce characters.

This discovery indicates that the resident was at the forefront of artistic trends when commissioning grotesques for their palace. Among artistic circles, this style had been adopted following the discovery of Nero´s Domus Aurea, from the Ancient Roman era, during excavations in the 1480s.

According to the restorer’s research report, more frescoes are likely to be found on the ceiling and at its edges. We are beginning our efforts to preserve cultural heritage with the two lunettes, and in the future, we hope to uncover the mysterious ceiling relief as well. This piece of art is a painting with stone frames on the flat surface of the ceiling. From the sample area of the stone frame, I can distinguish a golden-brown, faded color and try to imagine the artwork in its renewed glory, gilded in its 15th-century brilliance.

Mysteeriteos raameissa Valokuva: Nina Tokola (2024)

About ten years ago, frescoes painted on walls and ceilings by the famous artist Luca Cambiaso and his apprentice Lazzaro Tavarone were discovered in another apartment of the same building. This leaves two intriguing questions for us as well: who painted the grotesques in our apartment in the late 1400s (the estimated timeline), and did Luca Cambiaso and his team also work (in the mid-1500s) in our rooms?

You can surely guess what I would like to save for in the future.

Toisen asunnon kattomaalauksia: Luca Cambiaso, Nozze di Amore (yllä) e Psiche ja Storie di Marco Antonio (alla) Valokuvat: Nina Tokola (2023)

While saving up, I focus on the more affordable elements that influence the ambiance of the interior, such as implementing lighting solutions that complement the frescoes. I might even dash to the ground-floor shop to update my sunglasses (which, by the way, are called “lunettes” in French).

As soon as the renovation progresses and there’s more to photograph in the apartment than scaffolding and plaster buckets, I promise to write again about the news from this palace.

With sunny regards, Nina