North Façade of the Villa Doria

Andrea Doria built himself a splendid seaside villa just outside Genoa’s western gate. He entrusted the design and decoration of much of this complex to Perino del Vaga, one of Raphael’s students, who escaped papal Rome during its fateful sack by imperial troops in 1527. Perino’s common artistic roots with Giulio Romano, another of Raphael’s talented pupils, is evident in the designs he made for the street-side fa�ade of the Villa Doria. Perino conceived of the fa�ade as a field for architectural and decorative fantasies.