Plattegrond van de begane grond van het Palazzo Doria te Genua 1622

Nicolaes Ryckmans created this floor plan of the Palazzo Doria in Genoa, Italy. Ryckmans’ drawing gives us insight into the spatial politics of 17th century Italian aristocracy. Consider how the architecture of domestic space might reflect the rigid social hierarchies of the time, and how access to different parts of the Palazzo would be dictated by one's social standing. The plan reveals how power and privacy were negotiated through architecture. There is a tension between the desire to display wealth and status through elaborate design, and the need for seclusion and security. We might question how gender and class intersect to shape the experience of inhabiting such a space. Whose movements are privileged and whose are restricted within these walls? How might this architectural blueprint be viewed as a map of social control? Consider the lives lived within these rooms.