Searching for the footsteps of Del Carretto

The path is divided into some easy stages.

01.

San Biagio in Finalborgo

Recomposed on the walls of the Borgo we find a large marble plaque with a coat of arms of the Del Carretto family, on a chariot drawn by two crowned lions.

It is a tribute to the family, once placed on nearby Porta Carretta, built by Giovanni I Del Carretto in 1452 after the reconquest of the marquisate.

The rabbit portrayed in the bas-relief was favorable to the marquis: his marriage to Viscontina Adorno gave birth to numerous children that enabled the rise of the family on the stage of Renaissance Italy.

The carved coat of arms on the capital in Finale stone at the bottom of the plaque can be linked to Giovanni and Viscontina.

02.

The Church of San Biagio

As you enter the Church of San Biagio, above the main portal, you can see the large funeral mausoleum of Sforza Andrea Del Carretto, the last marquis of Finale, who died in 1602 after selling the marquisate to Spain. The mausoleum has been moved here from the Church of Santa Caterina.

03.

Palazzo del tribunale

Leaving the church and taking Via Torcelli, one reaches the Piazza del Tribunale, where the splendid painted facade of the palace where justice was administered in the name of the Del Carretto family can be admired.

The Finale stone bas-reliefs with the four cardinal virtues and the figure of the judge symbolize the good governance of the marquisate.

04.

I chiostri di Santa Caterina

Here we reach the Renaissance cloisters of the Dominican Convent of Santa Caterina, placed under the patronage of the Del Carretto family, whose coats of arms adorn many of the Finale’s stone capitals.

But to realize the importance of this Marquis family, it is necessary to take the Strada Beretta and climb up to Castel Gavone, the splendid fortified residence of the Marquis family.

The magnificence of this castle can still be perceived despite the destruction ordered by Genoa in 1715 to also erase the memory of the Finale noblemen who had built, expanded, and transformed it into their prestigious residence.

For more information on the Renaissance monuments of Finale, please visit our website at www.mudifinale.com

The various monuments can be visited during guided tours (as part of the “Renaissance Itinerary”) organized by the Museo Diffuso del Finale and the Centro Storico del Finale for Castel Gavone.

More information about guided tours at www.mudifinale.com