Palazzo Cambiaso

I took the whole family for a city break in a real-life Palazzo to experience the Italian dolce vita in the historical city of Genoa. On our way to the Palazzo Cambiaso, we were amazed by the city’s beautiful architecture and excited to see where we would be staying. When we arrived, we were all speechless, which, if you were acquainted with my noisy family, would come as a surprise. It was superb. Over the entrance, there is an inscription in Latin: ‘Non Domo Dominus, Sed Domino Domis’. My eldest son, a history buff, roughly translated: ‘it is not the house that should bring honour to the man, but the man to the house’. We crossed the threshold to find our loft apartment.

Inside, history gives way to sleek and contemporary interiors, so much so that it is almost impossible to imagine you are in an authentic 18th-century palace. In this spacious suite, we slept on the mezzanine level and the two boys were comfortable on the sofa bed in the living room. Equipped with an oven, fridge, hob and coffee machine, the kitchen was like our kitchen at home but grander. Coming home to rustle up meals in the privacy of our own pied-à-terre would be ideal. While my eldest was immersed in his history books, the younger one was already checking how many channels there were on the television and sending grandma some photos over the good WiFi connection. Before long, it was time for us to head out and explore.

The famous aquarium, one of the biggest in Europe, is just four hundred metres away. We saved it for another day as a treat for the children later on. Instead, we headed into the historical centre, the ‘Vicoli’. We discovered streets brimming with cafes and restaurants, picturesque shops and elegant designer boutiques, and we visited the old harbour, as well as the Palazzo Reale, Palazzo San Giorgio, Palazzo Ducale and the Strada Nuova art museum. You can sense the city’s golden age when each of the noble families had their own palace, church and city square. There are so many treasures to discover.

On the way home after our walk, deciding what to do the following day, we stopped to do some grocery shopping. That evening, we stayed in to make homemade pizzas. We cooked while the children played their favourite music on the iPod dock. While we were out exploring in the morning, the studio would be cleaned for us, so we could relax and enjoy our first night in our new Italian home.