A well-preserved example of an aristocratic neighbourhood from the High Middle Ages, Piazza San Matteo, with the 14th-century church of San Matteo surrounded by palaces featuring characteristic bands of black and white stone, was the centre of power of the Doria family and a tangible sign of the private power of a large family in mediaeval Genoa.

The church was founded in 1125 by Martino Doria and later rebuilt in a Gothic style. Visible under the right-hand window is the marble slab of the tomb of the famous admiral Lamba Doria.

In the mid-16th century, Andrea Doria commissioned a new decorative design for the church's interior and had his tomb built in the crypt under the high altar.

All the buildings in the square belonged to the Doria family; at no. 17 is Palazzo Andrea Doria, characterised by refined Gothic workmanship.