Doria Palace, Noble palace in central La Spezia, Italy

Doria Palace sits where Via del Prione meets Sapri and Gioberti streets, with a grand entrance displaying the Doria family crest. The noble floor was later converted into the Locanda Universo hotel, serving as accommodations for guests.

The palace was built in the 17th century for the Doria family, who lived there until the 1840s. Marquis Giorgio Doria, a senator of the Kingdom, then moved the family to a new palace on Via Chiodo, later destroyed by the 1944 bombings. The noble floor was subsequently rented out and turned into the Locanda Universo inn.

The Società dei concerti, a music society from La Spezia, operates from rooms within the palace. The group regularly hosts musical events and gatherings for local music enthusiasts.

The palace stands on Via del Prione, the narrow caruggio of the historic centre, at its crossing with Via Sapri and Via Gioberti. Look for the family coat of arms on the portal to identify the entrance; the double-capital columns are in some ground-floor spaces on Via Sapri. The Società dei Concerti, housed in the building, is the reference point for visiting.

Wagner was not staying in the palace itself: after the Doria moved out, the piano nobile was rented and run as the Locanda Universo hotel, and a plaque above the main entrance records that on 5 September 1853, watching the waves break on the rocks of the old town, he found the opening of Das Rheingold, the start of the Ring tetralogy.