piano nobile

[ pyah-naw naw-bee-le ]

noun

, Italian.

, plural pia·ni no·bi·li [pyah, -nee , naw, -bee-lee].

1. the principal story of a large building, as of a palace or villa.

piano nobile

/ ˈpjɑːnəʊ ˈnəʊbɪlɪ /

noun

1. architect the main floor of a large house, containing the reception rooms: usually of lofty proportions

Word History and Origins

Origin of piano nobile¹

Italian: great floor

Example Sentences

Where Weatherford and Kiefer are brooding and dense, Baselitz — generally not my favorite artist — has shown his most attractive side in a suite of decorative paintings installed on the building’s piano nobile, or first floor.

From Washington Post

“Nothing beats it in the flesh,” said Robert Travers, the director of Piano Nobile, a London gallery.

From New York Times

Its consummate feature is a picture gallery on the piano nobile that spans the length of the building and measures out to five perfect 18-foot cubes.

From Wall Street Journal

Original elements were preserved whenever possible: elaborately coffered ceilings, Corinthian pilasters, painterly marble mantels in rose and scarab green, deep mahogany door surrounds and timeworn octagonal tiles that underlay most of the light-filled piano nobile.

From Wall Street Journal

“Those houses are built to be diplomatic residences with a piano nobile floor plan,” said Russell Firestone of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty.

From Washington Post