Exterior view

Giovanni’s later commissions included the addition of end-loggias to Giovanni Andrea Doria’s Genoese suburban villa in Fassolo and the expansion and systematisation of its gardens (1577-80). For the Villa Doria (1575) at Loano, Giovanni again designed end-loggias and formal terraced gardens.

The Palazzo Doria in Piazza Italia was built for Count Andrea Doria I. The building, leaning against the north-west side of the city walls, was built according to the concept of the fortress palace: on the minor fa�ades, overlapping loggias open with three arches supported by two large pillars, the lower ones leading down to the side gardens.

The interior has a tripartite layout, with a large atrium on the ground floor and a living room on the main floor. At the end of the atrium there is a wide staircase with gently sloping steps, paved in herringbone terracotta with stone curbs, and not very high, so the Count could mount them on horseback, leading to the piano nobile, where a large vestibule leads into the central hall.