Bartolomeo Bianco

Bartolomeo Bianco (1590–1657) was the leading architect of the Genoese Baroque. Born near Como, he moved to Genoa with his architect father and became the favourite builder of the Balbi family.

From 1618 he laid out the new Via Balbi and lined it with palaces, including the Palazzo Balbi-Senarega, later published by Rubens. In 1626 he took charge of the city's New Walls.

From 1634 he built the Jesuit college, his masterpiece, now the seat of the University of Genoa. Its steep site inspired a dramatic arrangement of loggias and stairways. He died in Genoa during the plague of 1657.