Piazza San Domenico Where now lies the square, in the past it was nothing more than a triangular space which was named after San Domenico's Church. The church was demolished in the 1820s and on its soil was built
Teatro Carlo Felice. The square was enclosed by its church, a Dominican cloister, Palazzo Forcheri and other buildings. In the middle of the square there was a
(monumental fountain) from the year 1536. Linked to Piazza San Domenico were to the east Via Giulia, Via dei Sellai (now named Via Cardinal Boetto) and to the west Via San Sebastiano. Most of today's square was taken by houses which were built at the foot of Colle San Andrea, then excavated at the beginning of the twentieth century.
The nineteenth century First half of the century After the incorporation of the former
Ligurian Republic to the
Sardinian Kingdom established in 1814 during the
Congress of Vienna, a decision was made and the area were now Piazza De Ferrari is located was destined to become a social and cultural place of meeting. In addition to this, it was proposed to build a theatre where was located the former complex of San Domenico. In 1818, King
Vittorio Emanuele I authorised the demolition of the church. The church was then demolished and on its soil was built
Teatro Carlo Felice which was inaugurated on April 7, 1828 (after two years of building). Next to the theatre, on April 28, 1832, was inaugurated a two-stories building destined to become the headquarters of the
Accademia Ligustica and of
Biblioteca Berio. In the following years, the square was linked to the port by the construction of Via San Lorenzo where now lies the
Cathedral of San Lorenzo. Other than being linked to several important streets such as
Strada Balbi,
Via Garibaldi (former
Strada Nuova),
Via Cairoli (former
Strada Nuovissima) and
Strada Giulia.
Second half of the century During the second half of the century, several jobs on the road network were made and the square acquired its role of fulcrum of the city. In 1868, Via Roma was built and next to it was built a parallel covered street, Galleria Mazzini. On December 10, 1975, one year after the death of
Raffaele De Ferrari, the square was dedicated to him. In 1893, in front of Teatro Carlo Felice was inaugurated the monument dedicated to Giuseppe Garibaldi, built by Augusto Rivalta and during its ceremony, many important figures were present such as:
Francesco Crispi, Stefano Canzio and
Anton Giulio Barrili. in front of Opera Carlo Felice Until the last few years of the century, a fruit, vegetable and flower market took place in the square. The market was later moved in 1899 into the covered space of Mercato Orientale built on the northern side of Via XX Settembre. In 1912 the
Palazzo della Nuova Borsa, located between Via Dante and Via XX Settembre, was inaugurated. On April 24, 1936, at the centre of the square was inaugurated the bronze fountain, designed by Giuseppe Crosa di Vergagni, and its main bronze basin was donated by engineer Carlo Piaggio to celebrate Italy's entry into the war against
Abissinia.
World War II During World War II, an
air-raid destroyed
Teatro Carlo Felice almost completely; only the perimeter walls and the neoclassic façade remained standing. The theatre was then rebuilt between 1987 and 1991. Finally in 1991 it was re-opened to the public. Ahead of April 25, 1945, in the square there were violent battles between
partisans and the
Nazi German Army. In the following days, the square witnessed events linked to the
liberation with the descent of the partisans from the mountains who came to participate in the liberation parade. On April 25, the enemy troops, headed by
Günter Meinhold, surrendered to the partisans headed by
Remo Scappini (
Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale). Meinhold signed the act of surrender in
Villa Migone; at the time it was the house of the
Cardinal of Genoa. This was the only case in Italy in which the German Army surrendered to Partisan troops and not to the allied forces, who had not arrived yet.
June 30th 1960 On June 30, 1960, the majority of Genoa's population was opposed to the congress of the
Italian Social Movement authorised by the government, headed by
Demochristian Fernando Tambroni. At the congress,
Carlo Emanuele Basile (former
prefect of Genoa during the
Italian Social Republic) would have also made an appearance, a fact which contributed to the authorisation granted by Tambroni. A major part of , which happened to be violent, took place in the square.
The twenty-first century July 2001—G8 Central access to the (red zone) during the
G8 meeting in
Palazzo Ducale, the nearby areas were crowded by protestors who tried to enter the square. Being the square closed to the public, the protest moved to different areas of the city which caused the massacres of
Piazza Alimonda and to
Diaz School.
Renovation process of the square The square was heavily renovated during the 1990s and in the first couple of years of the 2000s for the Colombians Celebrations for the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America and for the G8 meeting of 2001. The project was guided by German urbanist and architect Bernhard Winkler. The square was widely
pedestrianised and re-paved and the fountain was enriched with new water springs and with a supplementary basin. Since the beginning of the 2000s, due to high consumption of water and to infiltrations in the metro station beneath the square, the new water jets were often disabled. Finally, in 2018, the streams were renovated and the water recycling system was updated. ==Historical palaces==