Palazzo Rosso Tours

Genoa’s Palazzo Rosso, or Red Palace, was built in the 1670s as a private home for the wealthy Brignole-Sale family. Donated to the city 200 years later, it was turned into an art museum featuring works by Veronese, Strozzi, and van Dyck. The palace is located in the heart of Genoa’s historical center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Basics
Palazzo Rosso offers an inside look at how Genoese aristocracy lived during the 17th and 18th centuries. The home is decorated with ornate furnishings, an extensive painting collection, frescoes by great Ligurian painters, and many other treasures and antiquities collected by the Brignole-Sale family.

The palace’s location makes it a natural stop on a tour of Genoa’s historical core. Tickets to Palazzo Rosso also include entry to nearby Palazzo Bianco, with European paintings from the 12th to 18th century, and Palazzo Tursi, which contains decorative arts as well as Paganini’s violin.

Things to Know Before You Go

• The Palazzo Rosso is a must-visit for Italian history buffs and art lovers.
• Audio guides are available in Italian, French, and English.
• The entrance and main exhibition area are wheelchair accessible with lift access to all floors.

How to Get There
Palazzo Rosso is located at Via Garibaldi 18, in Genoa’s historical core. To get there by public transit, take the metro to either the Darsena or San Giorgio station, each a 10-minute walk from the palace.

When to Get There
Most visitors spend about 2.5 hours exploring Palazzo Rosso and the other Strada Nuova Museums. These popular attractions are at their busiest in the early and late afternoon, so visit in the morning, if possible, to avoid the crowds.

The Strada Nuova Museums
Laid out in the 16th century, Via Garibaldi—then known as Strada Nuova—was the most fashionable address in town, where Genoa’s aristocracy built their palaces. Today three of those mansions—Palazzo Rosso, Palazzo Bianco, and Palazzo Tursi—comprise the Strada Nuova Museums, home to the city’s finest collection of European masters. Largely gleaned from the collections of the patricians who lived there, the museums include works by van Dyck, Dürer, and Veronese.