The Genoese created a powerful mercantile empire on the back of maritime trade and then by banking. They financed everyone, most notably Charles V of Spain, lending enormous sums at very high rates of interest. The other countries paid with the massive wealth flooding in from the Americas.
During the 200 years of its greatest glory, the great princes of Genoa were stupendously wealthy. They moved out of the tiny alleys of the old town, building themselves palaces. Some were along the waterfront, but the grandest of all moved uphill, above the stink of the city to glorious views of the sea. Here there was elbow room.
On what was then called Strada Nuova (now called via Garibaldi) a series of extraordinary palaces were built. It is literally a textbook of Renaissance architecture, as the styles and formats were collected by Rubens into a widely circulated reference. These palaces were all built on the same plan, with an atrium, a colonnaded garden and surrounding grand rooms. Extravagant frescos, enormous mirrors, and spectacular art collections were used to impress and overwhelm; the grand families drew lots as to whom would house visiting state dignitaries.
Three of the palaces are now combined as one museum, containing a major collection of renaissance art, including many portraits by Van Dyck, a number of Rubens', a superb Ecco Homo by Caraveggio and many treasures of the Ligurian school. There is also a fascinating display of coinage and weights which show the hard management that lay behind the sumptuous clothes and exotic jewels.
This is the courtyard of the Palazzo Tursi, a huge wedding cake of a building around this formal frontage. It is also the City Hall of Genoa, and there are signs to the registrary, to the office of the Syndicat and other mundane activities. The main civic building is a mini-Canary Wharf, somewhat west of the old town (and nicknamed the Big Pencil by the Genoese); it's easy to see that any civic leader would want to hang on to such a showpiece as this palace if they could.