Palazzo Rosso

The Palazzo Rosso, in Genoa

The Palazzo Rosso is one of the finest palaces of the Via Garibaldi, with its famous red façade, that today shelters a museum. The Genoa audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this double dwelling raised from 1671 for the Brignole Sale brothers, whose thirty-nine rooms richly adorned with frescoes preserve a remarkable collection of paintings signed Van Dyck, Veronese or Strozzi.

History

"The first palace that I saw was the Brignole palace: red façade, straight marble staircase", wrote Gustave Flaubert in his Travel Notes in 1845. Nearly two hundred years later, it is your turn to appreciate this same scenography, one of the finest of the historic centre: it is the Palazzo Rosso. In 1671, two noble Genoese brothers, Rodolfo and Giovanni Francesco Brignole Sale, charged the architect Pietro Antonio Corradi to fulfil their wish: a double dwelling where each would occupy a floor. After six years of works, the structure was completed, and the year 1679 saw the arrival of the first decorative interventions, fresco painters and masters of stucco working in concert to embellish the thirty-nine rooms. In 1874, Maria Brignole Sale de Ferrari, last heir, bequeathed the property and a whole collection of paintings to the city of Genoa. Strozzi, Van Dyck and Veronese count among the artists gathered in what has become a museum, one of the artistic jewels of the Via Garibaldi.

What to see

Here you admire a superb palace with a red façade, raised from 1671 for the Brignole Sale brothers as a double dwelling of one floor each; its thirty-nine rooms adorned with frescoes shelter a remarkable collection of paintings bequeathed to the city, signed Van Dyck, Veronese or Strozzi. The Palazzo Rosso is an artistic jewel of the Via Garibaldi. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Palazzo Rosso lies at number 18 of the Via Garibaldi, in Genoa, reachable on foot. It is a museum whose access and hours follow the conditions in force, which vary. It is best to enquire before coming.

What to see at the Palazzo Rosso of Genoa?

This palace with a red façade, raised from 1671 for the Brignole Sale brothers, shelters in its thirty-nine rooms adorned with frescoes a remarkable collection of paintings bequeathed to the city in 1874 by Maria Brignole Sale de Ferrari; you admire there works by Van Dyck, Veronese and Strozzi, in one of the finest decorations of the Via Garibaldi.

Where is the Palazzo Rosso in Genoa?

At number 18 of the Via Garibaldi, in Genoa, in Italy.