Piazza San Matteo, Genoa

Piazza San Matteo, one of the main squares in Genoa's historic center in the Molo district, was the heart of the consortium of one of Genoa's most illustrious families, the Dorias.

It is located a short distance from the very central Piazza De Ferrari, to which the short salita San Matteo connects it. Built in 1278 at the time of the reconstruction of the church of San Matteo, it is substantially preserved in its original appearance. Several family palaces, characterized by friezes of small arches and black-and-white banded facing, surround it entirely, creating an evocative medieval but still vital environment.

The church of San Matteo, overlooking the square, was an aristocratic chapel of this family. Although it became a parish church in later centuries, even today the appointment of the abbot who officiates at it depends on the heirs of the Dorias, who remain its owners.

A first church dedicated to St. Matthew was erected around 1125, by the Benedictine Martino Doria, who also belonged to the aristocratic family. The dedication to St. Matthew was linked to his profession as a gabelliere, just like the Dorias who therefore made him their patron saint.