At Kedleston Hall the piano nobile is placed above a rusticated ground floor and reached by an external grand staircase. The upper floor windows indicate their lower status.
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons
A piano nobile, from the Italian meaning noble or grand floor, is the main floor of a Palladian or Georgian building. Containing the most important rooms, it is usually on the first floor above a basement or ground floor with another floor above it. It is often accessed by a grand exterior staircase.[1][2]