Collezioni, arredi e spazi abitativi a Genova nel primo Settecento: documenti d'archivio su palazzo Centurione

The documents related to the dispute over the Doria-Centurione inheritance are a significant example of how archival research can provide ideas for a new reading of artistic phenomenon and, in the case in question, of inhabited spaces in the Baroque era. The inventories delineate not only the juridical events, but also the extent of the estate and the use of the inhabited spaces, at times with unusually detailed descriptions of the sumptuous furnishings in the building. The article presents and comments on two inventories: the first (1706) follows topographical scheme, with the exact description of the articulation of the rooms, of the main floors and the mezzanines in one of the most representative patrician residences in Genoa, Cristoforo Centuriones in Piazza Fossatello; the second (1707) is of a judiciary type, with the accurate description of the material and iconography of all of the paintings and furniture in the inheritance disputed over between Anna Maria, Cristoforo s widow, and his son Vincenzo. The two documents make it possible to visualize the interiors of the building, already partly mentioned in contemporary printed sources, while at the same time to appreciate the material substance of the furnishings (paintings, clocks, carriages...) thanks to meticulous descriptions that represent not only the vivid reality of the objects, but also, in some cases, the state of conservation of the artefact.