Façade van Palazzo Brignole aan de Via Nuova (Via Garibaldi) in Genua c. 1866

Alfredo Noack captured this albumen print of the Palazzo Brignole around the 1870s. The Palazzo, with its imposing façade on Genoa’s Via Garibaldi, embodies the city's history of wealth and power. Noack, a German photographer working in Italy, documented the grand architecture of the Italian city. His work coincided with a period of national unification and urban transformation. The Palazzo’s design, with its atlantes, recalls the Renaissance and Baroque periods when Genoa was a major maritime republic. It showcases the opulence of the Brignole family, who were significant players in Genoese politics and commerce. The Palazzo and the street it sits on, formerly known as Via Nuova, were part of an urban plan to display the wealth and sophistication of Genoa. Images like these were collected as historical records as well as souvenirs of a transforming urban landscape. Understanding the social role of such architecture requires knowledge of the families who commissioned it and the political context in which they operated. Historians sift through archives, family records, and urban plans to piece together the full picture.