Palazzo San Giorgio

The Palazzo San Giorgio (Italian for: Saint George Palace) is a building in Genoa, Italy. It is in Piazza Caricamento, located in close proximity to the Porto Antico.

History

The palace was built in 1260 by the politicians and Admiral Guglielmo Boccanegra, the uncle of the first Doge of Genoa, Simone Boccanegra (before 1339-1363 ).

For the construction of the new building material was from the previously demolished, Venetian embassy in Constantinople Opel used. This was done on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII (1224/1225-1282), who thanked thus for Genoese support against the Roman Empire. The palace was intended to indicate by the establishment of a civil - political center, the separation of church and Republic. Above all, should the power of the Catholic Church, which was manifested by the nearby Cathedral of San Lorenzo, are reduced.

Use as a prison

1262 Guglielmo Boccanegra was forced to go into exile and the palace was used as a prison. The most famous inmate was said to be Marco Polo, who there between September 1298 and July 1299 his travelogues ( "Il Milione " ) which fellow inmate Rustichello da Pisa should have dictated.

In the 15th century the building headquarters of the Banco di San Giorgio was.