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63-465: The Palazzo Doria-Spinola or Palazzo Antonio Doria is a palace located in largo Eros Lanfranco in the historical center of Genoa, Northwestern Italy. The palace was one of the 163 Palazzi dei Rolli of Genoa, one of those selected private residences where notable guests of the Republic of Genoa were hosted during State visits. On 13 luglio del 2006 it was added to the list of 42 palaces which now form

126-432: A "picturesque place", the travellers also unconsciously degraded Italy as a place of backwardness. This unconscious degradation is best reflected in the famous verses of Lamartine in which Italy is depicted as a "land of the past... where everything sleeps." In Rome, antiquaries like Thomas Jenkins were also dealers and were able to sell and advise on the purchase of marbles ; their price would rise if it were known that

189-817: A Venetian masked ball. Material relating to this can be found in the Brian Sewell Archive held by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art . In 2009, the Grand Tour featured prominently in a BBC/PBS miniseries based on Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens . Set mainly in Venice, it portrayed the Grand Tour as a rite of passage. Kevin McCloud presented Kevin McCloud's Grand Tour on Channel 4 in 2009 with McCloud retracing

252-570: A World Heritage Site by the UNESCO special committee meeting in Vilnius ( Lithuania ). The site includes an ensemble of Renaissance and Baroque palaces along the so-called ‘new streets’ ( Strade Nuove ), which 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

315-561: A period of study at the universities in Ingolstadt or Heidelberg . From there, travellers could visit Holland and Flanders (with more gallery-going and art appreciation) before returning across the Channel to England. Published accounts of the Grand Tour provided illuminating detail and an often polished first-hand perspective of the experience. Examining some accounts offered by authors in their own lifetimes, Jeremy Black detects

378-671: A public network of private residences designated to host state visits. On January 20, 2007, UNESCO unveiled a plaque in via Garibaldi, the former Strada Nuova, explaining the reasons for inclusion of the Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli within the World Heritage Sites: The largest homes, various in shape and distribution, that were chosen at random in the lists (rolli) to host visits of state. The buildings, often built on sloping land, formed of

441-533: A regular feature of aristocratic education in Central Europe as well, although it was restricted to the higher nobility. The tradition declined in Europe as enthusiasm for classical culture waned, and with the advent of accessible rail and steamship travel—an era in which Thomas Cook made the "Cook's Tour" of early mass tourism a byword starting in the 1870s. However, with the rise of industrialization in

504-414: A stepped atrium - courtyard - staircase - garden and rich interior decorations, express a singular social and economic identity and commencement of modern age urban architecture in Europe. Some of the Palazzi dei Rolli are used today as public buildings, museums, offices and private residences. Among the palaces open to the public, Palazzo Rosso , Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo Doria Tursi jointly constitute

567-400: A trip to Italy, with a spinster aunt as chaperone , was part of the upper-class women's education, as in E. M. Forster 's novel A Room with a View . British travellers were far from alone on the roads of Europe. On the contrary, from the mid-16th century, the grand tour was established as an ideal way to finish off the education of young men in countries such as Denmark, France, Germany,

630-637: A very pretty Venetian of two and twenty — with great black eyes — she is married — and so am I — we have found & sworn an eternal attachment ... & I am more in love than ever... and I verily believe we are one of the happiest unlawful couples on this side of the Alps." Many tourists enjoyed sexual relations while abroad but to a great extent were well behaved, such as Thomas Pelham, and scholars, such as Richard Pococke , who wrote lengthy letters of their Grand Tour experiences. Inventor Sir Francis Ronalds ' journals and sketches of his 1818–20 tour to Europe and

693-712: A weekend in May and one in September. An exception to this rule was made to mark the tenth anniversary of UNESCO's recognition in 2016, when three weekends were dedicated to the Rolli Days in April, May and October. The number of notable buildings open to the public during the Rolli Days has been increasing over time. More recently, also palaces not originally belonging to the Rolli system (as an example, some historical buildings of

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756-655: Is not likely to provide them with a Grand Tour, since they have been expelled from college again. Brent is not concerned, remarking, "What is there to see in Europe? I'll bet those foreigners can't show us a thing we haven't got right here in Georgia". Ashley Wilkes , on the other hand, enjoyed the scenery and music he encountered on his Grand Tour and was always talking about it. In 1998, the BBC produced an art history series Sister Wendy's Grand Tour presented by British Carmelite nun Sister Wendy . Ostensibly an art history series,

819-662: The Alps ), or he could opt to make the trip by riverboat as far as the Alps, either travelling up the Seine to Paris, or up the Rhine to Basel . Upon hiring a French-speaking guide, as French was the dominant language of the elite in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, the tourist and his entourage would travel to Paris . There the traveller might undertake lessons in French, dancing , fencing , and riding . The appeal of Paris lay in

882-482: The Genoese Admiral Andrea Doria , after his former residence was demolished to make way to the construction of the new walls, commissioned the palace to Bernardino Cantone and, later, to Giovan Battista Castello. The area was, at the time, immersed in nature near the demolished Acquasola Gate, which the same new walls had made redundant. At the end of the 16th century, Taddeo Carlone completed

945-599: The Genoese Senate —an aristocratic institution which took prominence as a result of the oligarchic reforms of the Prince and Admiral Andrea Doria—to determine the palaces available to the Government to ensure that the Republic of Genoa could offer appropriate lodging to the most notable guests who routinely visited the city, such as princes, kings, diplomats or religious authorities. The fact that not one single palace

1008-495: The Holy Land , which he chronicled in his highly popular satire Innocents Abroad in 1867. Not only was it the best-selling of Twain's works during his lifetime, it became one of the best-selling travel books of all time. Margaret Mitchell 's American Civil War -based novel, Gone With The Wind , makes reference to the Grand Tour. Stuart Tartleton, in a conversation with his twin brother, Brent, suspects that their mother

1071-522: The Palazzi dei Rolli were recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Municipality of Genoa started the so-called Rolli Days , dedicated to the free visit of both public and private buildings. Each time a different itinerary is proposed, with art students, architects and professional guides offering guided tours, almost all of them for free. The Rolli Days happen twice a year, normally during

1134-409: The ethical (by the opportunity of drawing moral instruction from all the traveller saw), and the political . As a young man at the outset of his account of a repeat Grand Tour, the historian Edward Gibbon remarked that "According to the law of custom, and perhaps of reason, foreign travel completes the education of an English gentleman." Consciously adapted for intellectual self-improvement, Gibbon

1197-561: The 'Collector' Earl of Arundel , with his wife and children in 1613–14 that established the most significant precedent. This is partly because he asked Inigo Jones , not yet established as an architect but already known as a 'great traveller' and masque designer, to act as his cicerone (guide). Larger numbers of tourists began their tours after the Peace of Münster in 1648. According to the Oxford English Dictionary ,

1260-473: The 1840s and was associated with a standard itinerary—served as an educational rite of passage . Though it was primarily associated with the British nobility and wealthy landed gentry , similar trips were made by wealthy young men of other Protestant Northern European nations, and, from the second half of the 18th century, by some South and North Americans. By the mid-18th century, the Grand Tour had become

1323-579: The 19th century.) From there the traveller would endure a difficult crossing over the Alps (such as at the Great St Bernard Pass ), which required dismantling the carriage and larger luggage. If wealthy enough, he might be carried over the hard terrain by servants. Once in Italy , the tourist would visit Turin (and sometimes Milan ), then might spend a few months in Florence , where there

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1386-783: The British tourist usually began in Dover , England , and crossed the English Channel to Ostend in Belgium , or to Calais or Le Havre in France . From there the tourist, usually accompanied by a tutor (known colloquially as a " bear-leader ") and (if wealthy enough) a troop of servants, could rent or acquire a coach (which could be resold in any city – as in Giacomo Casanova 's travels – or disassembled and packed across

1449-791: The Gallery of Maps in the Vatican, documenting the achievements of the Doria family and, in particular, of the first owner Antonio Doria, who worked as strategist for the Spanish Crown. In 1877, the palace became the seat of the Province of Genoa and the Prefecture. Palazzi dei Rolli On 13 July 13, 2006, forty-two of the 163 palaces originally included in one the five public list called "Rolli" (Italian for "lists") were selected as

1512-521: The Genoese aristocracy at the peak of Genoa's economic power in the 16th and 17th century (Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, formerly Strada Nuova or Via Aurea , Via Cairoli, formerly Strada Nuovissima , and via Balbi, now the home of the University of Genoa). Between the first half of the 16th century and the first half of the 17th century, the Genoese nobility started a careful town planning to transform

1575-417: The Government the most notable visitors during their State visit to the Republic. Later, these palaces hosted many famous visitors to Genoa during their Grand Tour , a cultural itinerary around Italy. Today, Palazzi dei Rolli as a collective name represents the set of the most prestigious palaces of the historical center of Genoa , especially along the so-called Strade Nuove , the "New Streets" built by

1638-426: The Grand Tour derided its lack of adventure. "The tour of Europe is a paltry thing", said one 18th century critic, "a tame, uniform, unvaried prospect". The Grand Tour was said to reinforce the old preconceptions and prejudices about national characteristics, as Jean Gailhard 's Compleat Gentleman (1678) observes: "French courteous. Spanish lordly. Italian amorous. German clownish." The deep suspicion with which Tour

1701-524: The Grand Tour lay in its exposure to the cultural legacy of classical antiquity and the Renaissance , and to the aristocratic and fashionably polite society of the European continent. It also provided the only opportunity to view specific works of art, and possibly the only chance to hear certain music. A Grand Tour could last anywhere from several months to several years. It was commonly undertaken in

1764-628: The Grand Tour, especially portraits of the traveller painted in continental settings, became the obligatory emblems of worldliness, gravitas and influence. Artists who particularly thrived on the Grand Tour market included Carlo Maratti , who was first patronised by John Evelyn as early as 1645, Pompeo Batoni the portraitist , and the vedutisti such as Canaletto , Pannini and Guardi . The less well-off could return with an album of Piranesi etchings. The "perhaps" in Gibbon's opening remark cast an ironic shadow over his resounding statement. Critics of

1827-403: The Grand Tour. From Venice the traveller went to Rome to study the ancient ruins and the masterpieces of painting, sculpture, and architecture of Rome's Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods. Some travellers also visited Naples to study music, and (after the mid-18th century) to appreciate the recently discovered archaeological sites of Herculaneum and Pompeii , and perhaps (for

1890-574: The Grand Tour. Boswell notes "Yesterday morning with her. Pulled up petticoat and showed whole knees... Touched with her goodness. All other liberties exquisite." He describes his time with the Italian women he encounters and shares a part of history in his written accounts. Lord Byron 's letters to his mother with the accounts of his travels have also been published from the early 19th century. Byron spoke of his first enduring Venetian love, his landlord's wife, mentioning that he has "fallen in love with

1953-588: The Near East have been published online. The letters written by sisters Mary and Ida Saxton of Canton, Ohio in 1869 while on a six-month tour offer insight into the Grand Tour tradition from an American perspective. Immediately following the American Civil War U.S. author and humorist Mark Twain undertook a decidedly modest yet greatly aspiring "grand tour" of Europe, the Middle East, and

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2016-469: The Netherlands, Poland and Sweden. In spite of this the bulk of research conducted on the Grand Tour has been on British travellers. Dutch scholar Frank-van Westrienen Anna has made note of this historiographic focus, claiming that the scholarly understanding of the Grand Tour would have been more complex if more comparative studies had been carried out on continental travellers. Recent scholarship on

2079-603: The Strada Nuova Museums located in via Garibaldi. The Rolli di Genova —more precisely, the Rolli degli alloggiamenti pubblici di Genova (Italian for "Lists of the public lodgings of Genoa") were the official lists at the time of the Republic of Genoa of the private palaces and mansions, belonging to the most distinguished Genoese families, which—if chosen through a public lottery—were obliged to host on behalf of

2142-521: The Swedish aristocracy has demonstrated that Swedish aristocrats, though being relatively poorer than their British peers, from around 1620 and onwards in many ways acted as their British counterparts. After studies at one or two renowned universities, preferably those of Leiden and Heidelberg, the Swedish grand tourists set off to France and Italy, where they spent time in Paris, Rome and Venice and completed

2205-582: The Tourists were interested. Coins and medals , which formed more portable souvenirs and a respected gentleman's guide to ancient history were also popular. Pompeo Batoni made a career of painting the English milordi posed with graceful ease among Roman antiquities. Many continued on to Naples , where they also viewed Herculaneum and Pompeii , but few ventured far into Southern Italy , and fewer still to Greece , then still under Turkish rule . After

2268-527: The UNESCO World Heritage Site Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli . The palace now hosts the Prefecture of Genoa and the seat of the Province of Genoa. It is possible to visit the areas of the building which are open to the public. The Rolli di Genova - or, more precisely, the Rolli degli alloggiamenti pubblici di Genova (Italian for "Lists of the public lodgings of Genoa") were

2331-523: The United States in the 19th century, American Gilded Age nouveau riche adopted the Grand Tour for both sexes and among those of more advanced years as a means of gaining both exposure and association with the sophistication of Europe. Even those of lesser means sought to mimic the pilgrimage, as satirized in Mark Twain 's enormously popular Innocents Abroad in 1869. The primary value of

2394-561: The University of Genoa), suburban villas and churches have been added to the tour offerings. One of the Rolli palaces - Palazzo Grillo in Piazza delle Vigne - was intended by the property to host the Foundation named after Fabrizio De André , famous songwriter from Genoa. Given the time required for the restoration of the building, the inauguration of the facility is scheduled for 2019, the tenth anniversary of his death in 2009. Inside

2457-417: The advent of steam-powered transportation around 1825, the Grand Tour custom continued, but it was of a qualitative difference — cheaper to undertake, safer, easier, open to anyone. During much of the 19th century, most educated young men of privilege undertook the Grand Tour. Germany and Switzerland came to be included in a more broadly defined circuit. Later, it became fashionable for young women as well ;

2520-574: The adventurous) an ascent of Mount Vesuvius . Later in the period, the more adventurous, especially if provided with a yacht , might attempt Sicily to see its archeological sites, volcanoes and its baroque architecture, Malta or even Greece itself. But Naples – or later Paestum further south – was the usual terminus. Returning northward, the tourist might recross the Alps to the German-speaking parts of Europe, visiting Innsbruck , Vienna , Dresden , Berlin and Potsdam , with perhaps

2583-705: The artists themselves, the elite considered travel to such centres as necessary rites of passage. For gentlemen, some works of art were essential to demonstrate the breadth and polish they had received from their tour. The Grand Tour offered a liberal education , and the opportunity to acquire things otherwise unavailable, lending an air of accomplishment and prestige to the traveller. Grand Tourists would return with crates full of books, works of art, scientific instruments, and cultural artefacts – from snuff boxes and paperweights to altars, fountains, and statuary – to be displayed in libraries, cabinets , gardens, drawing rooms , and galleries built for that purpose. The trappings of

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2646-607: The company of a cicerone , a knowledgeable guide or tutor. Rome for many centuries had already been the destination of pilgrims, especially during Jubilee when European clergy visited the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome . In Britain, Thomas Coryat 's travel book Coryat's Crudities (1611), published during the Twelve Years' Truce , was an early influence on the Grand Tour but it was the far more extensive tour through Italy as far as Naples undertaken by

2709-584: The element of literary artifice in these and cautions that they should be approached as travel literature rather than unvarnished accounts. He lists as examples Joseph Addison , John Andrews, William Thomas Beckford (whose Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents was a published account of his letters back home in 1780–1781, embellished with stream-of-consciousness associations), William Coxe , Elizabeth Craven , John Moore , tutor to successive dukes of Hamilton, Samuel Jackson Pratt , Tobias Smollett , Philip Thicknesse , and Arthur Young . Although Italy

2772-560: The existing medieval city and initiate a sizeable urban expansion to the North. The move to expand the antique palaces and to build new sumptuous ones was driven by the extraordinary wealth that came into the city through prosperous financing activities towards several European powers. In particular, the Genoese aristocracy financed the expensive undertakings of the Spanish Crown, such as the mercenary army that Spain kept in Flanders from 1566 to

2835-565: The facade with the marble portal at the main entrance. In 1624 the palace passed to the Spinola family , which expanded it to the East with a richly-decorated gallery by Andrea Ansaldo, demolished in the 19th century to open via Roma. The main rooms were decorated by Giovanni and Luca Cambiaso with scenes from the Trojan War and battles between sea monsters. The palace contains a room inspired by

2898-461: The first recorded use of the term (perhaps its introduction to English) was by Richard Lassels ( c. 1603–1668), an expatriate Roman Catholic priest , in his book The Voyage of Italy , which was published posthumously in Paris in 1670 and then in London. Lassels's introduction listed four areas in which travel furnished "an accomplished, consummate Traveller": the intellectual , the social ,

2961-831: The highest dignitaries, such as Popes, Emperors, Kings and most important Cardinals and Princes: the Palazzo Doria Spinola in Salita Santa Caterina, the Palazzo Grimaldi Doria Tursi in today's via Garibaldi and the Palazzo Lercari Parodi , also in the current Via Garibaldi. The "Rolli" or "Lists" preserved to this day were five: 1576 (including 52 palaces); 1588 (111); 1599 (150); 1614 (96); and 1664 (95). In total, there were 162 palaces included at least once in one of these official lists. Le Strade Nuove and

3024-609: The home, located in the centre of Genoa, will be a café and / or a restaurant, an auditorium, public rooms (classrooms and information) devoted to the study of the Genoese school of singer-songwriters, the top floor of the residence could be a meeting place between guests. FAI is in the process of completing the rehabilitation and restoration of Villa Saluzzo Bombrini, in the Albaro quarter, known as Il Paradiso and inhabited in his youth by De André. Grand Tour The Grand Tour

3087-609: The journey takes her from Madrid to Saint Petersburg with stop-offs to see the great masterpieces. In 2005, British art historian Brian Sewell followed in the footsteps of the Grand Tourists for a 10-part television series Brian Sewell's Grand Tour . Produced by UK's Channel Five, Sewell travelled by car and confined his attention solely to Italy stopping in Rome, Florence, Naples, Pompeii, Turin, Milan, Cremona, Siena, Bologna, Vicenza, Paestum, Urbino, Tivoli and concluding at

3150-673: The lack of it". Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Italian women, with their unfamiliar methods and routines, were opposites to the western dress expected of European women in the eighteenth and nineteenth century; their "foreign" ways led to the documentation of encounters with them, providing published accounts of the Grand Tour. James Boswell in the 18th century courted noble ladies and recorded his progress with his relationships, mentioning that Madame Micheli "Talked of religion, philosophy... Kissed hand often." The promiscuity of Boswell's encounters with Italian elite are shared in his diary and provide further detail on events that occurred during

3213-456: The official lists at the time of the Republic of Genoa of the private palaces and mansions, belonging to the most distinguished Genoese families, which - if chosen through a public lottery - were obliged to host on behalf of the Government the most notable visitors during their State visit to the Republic. Later, these palaces hosted many famous visitors to Genoa during their Grand Tour , a cultural itinerary around Italy Antonio Doria, cousin of

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3276-419: The original grand tour on the French countryside. King Gustav III of Sweden made his Grand Tour in 1783–84. The itinerary of the Grand Tour was not set in stone, but was subject to innumerable variations, depending on an individual's interests and finances, though Paris and Rome were popular destinations for most English tourists. The most common itinerary of the Grand Tour shifted across generations, but

3339-408: The peace of Westphalia in 1648. The ruling class of Genoa, mixing nobility of blood with new mercantile wealth, sought to underpin their prestige by the construction of grand city palaces and suburban villas of unusual splendor. The Rolli —more precisely, the Rolli degli alloggiamenti pubblici di Genova (Italian for "Lists of the public lodgings of Genoa")—were official lists established in 1576 by

3402-555: The sophisticated language and manners of French high society, including courtly behavior and fashion. This served to polish the young man's manners in preparation for a leadership position at home, often in government or diplomacy . From Paris he would typically sojourn in urban Switzerland , often in Geneva (the cradle of the Protestant Reformation ) or Lausanne . ("Alpinism" or mountaineering developed later, in

3465-626: The system of the Palazzi dei Rolli became a World Heritage Site in 2006. The criteria for this selection were explained by the UNESCO as follows: These are the forty-two palaces currently included by UNESCO in the World Heritage Site: The following Palazzi dei Rolli are still preserved but, due to partitioning or altered use, have not been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site: In 2009, after

3528-632: The trappings of the Grand Tour—valets and coachmen, perhaps a cook, certainly a " bear-leader " or scholarly guide—were beyond their reach. The advent of popular guides, such as the book An Account of Some of the Statues, Bas-Reliefs, Drawings, and Pictures in Italy published in 1722 by Jonathan Richardson and his son Jonathan Richardson the Younger , did much to popularise such trips, and following

3591-602: Was "revisiting the Continent on a larger and more liberal plan"; most Grand Tourists did not pause more than briefly in libraries. On the eve of the Romantic era he played a significant part in introducing, William Beckford wrote a vivid account of his Grand Tour that made Gibbon's unadventurous Italian tour look distinctly conventional. The typical 18th-century stance was that of the studious observer travelling through foreign lands reporting his findings on human nature for those unfortunates who stayed at home. Recounting one's observations to society at large to increase its welfare

3654-450: Was a considerable Anglo-Italian society accessible to travelling Englishmen "of quality" and where the Tribuna of the Uffizi gallery brought together in one space the monuments of High Renaissance paintings and Roman sculpture . After a side trip to Pisa , the tourist would move on to Padua , Bologna , and Venice . The British idea of Venice as the "locus of decadent Italianate allure" made it an epitome and cultural set piece of

3717-470: Was chosen, but many, was a sign that the authorities of the Republic of Genoa considered the whole city as a "republican royal palace". The Palazzi dei Rolli were subdivided on the basis of their prestige into three categories—with size, beauty and importance as main criteria—for selecting whether each palace was suitable to accommodate cardinals, princes and viceroys, feudal lords, ambassadors or governors. Only three palaces were deemed suitable to accommodate

3780-479: Was considered an obligation; the Grand Tour flourished in this mindset. In essence, the Grand Tour was neither a scholarly pilgrimage nor a religious one, though a pleasurable stay in Venice and a cautious residence in Rome were essential. Catholic Grand Tourists followed the same routes as Protestant Whigs. Since the 17th century, a tour to such places was also considered essential for budding artists to understand proper painting and sculpture techniques, though

3843-401: Was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe , with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tutor or family member) when they had come of age (about 21 years old). The custom—which flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transport in

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3906-465: Was viewed at home in England, where it was feared that the very experiences that completed the British gentleman might well undo him, were epitomised in the sarcastic nativist view of the ostentatiously "well-travelled" maccaroni of the 1760s and 1770s. Also worth noticing is that the Grand Tour not only fostered stereotypes of the countries visited but also led to a dynamic of contrast between northern and southern Europe. By constantly depicting Italy as

3969-498: Was written as the "sink of iniquity", many travelers were not kept from recording the activities they participated in or the people they met, especially the women they encountered. To the Grand Tourists, Italy was an unconventional country, for "The shameless women of Venice made it unusual, in its own way." Sir James Hall confided in his written diary to comment on seeing "more handsome women this day than I ever saw in my life", also noting "how flattering Venetian dress [was] — or perhaps

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