Palazzo Bianco

Constructed between 1530 and 1540 by Luca Grimaldi, a member of the House of Grimaldi, one of the most important Genoese families, in 1658 the palace passed into the possession of the De Franchi Toso family, and in 1711 it was given by its inheritor Federico de Franchi Toso, to Maria Durazzo Brignole-Sale, his main creditor.

In 1899, Maria Brignole Sale, the Duchess of Galliera and the last member of the family, divested the palace to become municipal property and thus destined it to become a public gallery.

It has since benefited from a transformation due to reordering of the collections and the post-war reconstruction of the palace, curated by Orlando Grosso, Caterina Marcenaro and the architect Franco Albini, and from the inward transfer of sculpture and fresco from other museums and galleries.

Of the 13th and 16th century, works are shown by authors such as Barnaba da Modena, Ludovico Brea and Luca Cambiaso (including La Madonna della candela).

The activity of the Genoese painters of the 17th and 18th centuries is documented from the works of Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, Giovanni Andrea Ansaldo, Bernardo Strozzi, Valerio Castello, Domenico Piola, Paolo Girolamo Piola, Gregorio De Ferrari and Alessandro Magnasco.