The Villa of Andrea Doria in Genoa: Architecture, Gardens, and Suburban Setting

This paper reconsiders Andrea Doria's 16th-century villa in Genoa as an architectural and garden monument in relation to its original suburban setting. The villa has thus far been discussed primarily as a decorative monument, with scholars focusing their attention upon the interior fresco and stucco decorations of Perino del Vaga and façade paintings by Perino, Beccafumi, and Pordenone. However, these paintings have not been understood fully in terms of the architectural, garden, and suburban context of the villa, which serves as the focus of this study. A biographical sketch of Doria is followed by a building history of his villa, tracing its classical and Renaissance prototypes, the development of the building plan, and phases of construction. Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli's gardens of the 1540s are reconstructed from visual and literary sources, then related to the villa architecture and its suburban environs. A discussion of urban planning around the villa during the 1530s and 1540s shows how the villa functioned as a ceremonial entry monument into Genoa. Concluding remarks on the triumphal receptions of Emperor Charles V and Philip II at the Villa Doria during the mid-16th century underscore the importance of the villa's architecture, gardens, and suburb as a unified work of art.