Via Roma was built in the second half of the 19th century together with Galleria Mazzini to connect the city centre with Via Assarotti and the rapidly developing hillside quarters. It is now home to many of the oldest and classiest boutiques in town and a favourite for serious shoppers. Various churches and older structures were demolished to make way for the road but one building that survives is the Palazzo Doria Spinola. It was built between 1541 and 1543 by Admiral Antonio Doria, passed on to the Spinola family and finally sold to the city in 1876. It now belongs to the Province of Genoa and is also home to the Prefettura, the government’s territorial office.