Since the mid-sixteenth century, the building has undergone numerous interventions, assuming its current appearance in the nineteenth century. A prestigious residence considered, already in the seventeenth century, by the great Flemish painter Rubens, an exemplary architectural model.
The rooms of the building conserve cycles of frescoes and decorative elements created over the course of four centuries.
The art collection, which includes paintings by important artists, including Bernardo Strozzi, Simone Cantarini, Gaetano Gandolfi, Anton Maria Maragliano, Vittorio Corcos, is embellished with tapestries, some of which belonged to Admiral Andrea Doria, wooden sculptures, bronzes and marbles , furnishings, furniture and porcelain.