Piano nobile

Piano nobile

The principal floor of a great or noble house, usually containing state rooms on the first floor above the ground or basement.

Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture Copyright © 2012, 2002, 1998 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

piano nobile

In Renaissance architecture and derivatives, a floor with formal reception and dining rooms; the principal story in a house, usually one flight above the ground.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.