piano nobile

American  

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

noun

Italian.

piani nobili plural

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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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• piani nobili
  plural

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.

Beneath this piano nobile there is a large low ground, or rather water, floor, whose stone pavement, only slightly above the level of the canal outside, is always damp and often wet.

From The Front Yard by Woolson, Constance Fenimore

Below, the piano nobile was rented by the proprietor of a great wine industry.

From The Happy End by Hergesheimer, Joseph