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

Kitty, seized with nervous fright, turned and ran down the broad staircase by which she had come, through the series of deserted rooms in the piano nobile, till she reached the great hall.

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

Then, on the whole, he decides that the rooms are too small; he doesn't think he could live on a third floor; he must look out for a piano nobile.

From The Portrait of a Lady — Volume 2 by James, Henry

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)