piano nobile

American  

[pyah-naw naw-bee-le] / ˈpyɑ nɔ ˈnɔ bi lɛ /

noun

Italian.

plural

piani nobili

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

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piano nobile British  

/ ˈpjɑːnəʊ ˈnəʊbɪlɪ /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of piano nobile

Italian: great floor

Example Sentences

The operatic museum in which they reside has many rooms, even on the piano nobile that both by right will occupy.

From The Guardian • Jun. 20, 2013

March 2007 Belgian designer and antiques dealer Axel Vervoordt’s apartment is on the piano nobile of the 15th-century Palazzo Alverà in Venice, Italy.

From Architectural Digest • Mar. 1, 2010

They climbed it, and found themselves at once in one of the great rooms of the piano nobile, to which this quick and easy access from the inhabited entresol had been but recently contrived.

From The Marriage of William Ashe by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.

The carved string-course above and the Gothic windows of the piano nobile are also remains of the earlier building.

From The Shores of the Adriatic The Austrian Side, The Küstenlande, Istria, and Dalmatia by Jackson, F. Hamilton (Frederick Hamilton)

The approach to this piano nobile was up a flight of easily graded marble stairs, where in frequent niches stood old statues.

From Italy, the Magic Land by Whiting, Lilian