Window tax

The region of Italian Liguria is famous for the paintings on the town houses, and it all started in the 15th century in Genoa.

The new Renaissance fashion resulted in the construction of many palaces and townhouses, extremely richly decorated with sculptures, stucco and a multitude of windows with decorative shutters. Less wealthy property owners also wanted to be trendy. However, not having the sizeable budgets of the aristocratic families, they had to do things differently. This is how the new, lucrative profession of facade painter was born. These painters sometimes rose to artistic heights by painting decorations, cornices and sculptures on bare walls, almost three-dimensional and giving the impression of real ornamentation. To save even more, the owners of the townhouses dispensed with a large number of windows at the front, placing most of them in the courtyard. This is because the former were heavily taxed. This is where painters came to the rescue by painting... windows - closed, ajar, sometimes with a figure "looking out" onto the street through them.

All of this is still extremely, nomen omen, picturesque and is (along with many other colourful Italian towns) on the UNESCO World Heritage List.