37 ° 
THE GARDENS OF ITALY. 
389.— VIEW IN THE CORTILE OF THE PALAZZO DURAZZO, 
VIA BALBI, GENOA. 
Buill jor Paolo Balbi i>i 1620 l>v Bari Bianco. 
390. — PLAN OF THE PALAZZO DURAZZO, VIA BALBI, GENOA. 
with costlv walls and 
sloping stairways, it will 
be seen that there is little 
of the ^mere suburban 
villa of modern davs 
about these monuments 
of a great age. The 
general disposition, while 
broad and simple, is on a 
similarly adequate scale. 
As a rule, the masses 
are not undulv broken 
up ; two very slightlv 
advanced wings and a 
centre, well marked by 
blank arcades or open 
loggias, constitute the 
customary disposition of 
the main elevations. 
Sometimes the basement 
and lower storeys are 
preserved unbroken, and 
any recess in the outline 
occurs only in the upper 
storeys, so as to preserve 
a greater solidity of effect. 
The great open loggias, 
as in the Imperiale or 
the Paradiso Villas in 
particular, are a magnifi- 
cent source of effect, 
particularly where they 
are vaulted and decorated 
in stucco relief and 
colour. These Genoese 
villas are, of course, 
frankly plastered palaces 
of brick or rubble, with 
some stone or marble in 
important parts, but 
usually all washed over in 
colours, which seem very 
suitable on the spot. 
Buffs, terra-cottas, greys 
and whites are employed. 
The heavy green foliage 
helps, evergreen oaks and 
palm trees providing 
masses of contrasted 
green. This colour is 
echoed in the Venetians, 
which, when closed, pre- 
serve the continuity and 
flatness of the faqades. 
