Palazzo San Giorgio

Palazzo San Giorgio stands in Italy with two distinct faces, joined by centuries of civic and maritime history. The city-side portico shows a grey stone base, red-brick upper stories and a crenellated roofline. Facing the harbour, a painted Renaissance façade rises like a theatrical scene designed for sailors arriving by sea.

Built between 1257 and 1260 for Guglielmo Boccanegra, the palace followed plans by the Cistercian Frate Oliverio. Its foundations once touched the water, while its rooms served as a commune seat, prison, customs house and financial centre. Marco Polo was imprisoned here after the battle of Curzola and dictated his travel account to a cellmate. The Banco di San Giorgio expanded the complex from the fifteenth century, adding the seaward wing in 1570.

Alfredo d’Andrade restored the building in the late nineteenth century after years of decay and demolition threats. Inside, the Salone delle Compere preserves benefactor statues, paintings and Banco emblems, while the Sala dei Protettori keeps a sixteenth-century fireplace. Above the main portal, Saint George rides against the dragon, and small lion masks line the city-side portico.