Rolli Days Genova - April 2016

Don’t miss a weekend of special openings of the wonderful Palazzi dei Rolli,  the Genoese historical palaces  – Unesco World Heritage List since 2006 - built between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th centuries for aristocratic families as their private residences and meant to host illustrious guests on the part of the Republic of Genoa.

Following the success of recent editions and celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Unesco site, the Rolli Days will come back in 2016 with three dates: April 2 - 3, May 28 - 29, October 15-16.

In Aprile edition, the theme will be: The Palaces and the city. The suggested itinerary will go from Piazza della Nunziata, until Piazza Campetto, through Via Garibaldi and will include palaces, churches and squares.

The important collections kept in the palaces and the furniture of the churches were not only made by the same artists (who worked both in a laical and religious sphere), but they also represent the expression of a very same will of the costumers, since the important aristocratic families owned the patronage of the churches and competed against each other to decorate with great ostentation the sacred spaces of the city. The area of the historic centre included in the itinerary also clearly shows the stratification from 12^th to 18^th Century and the Palazzi dei Rolli, that passed through all this period, can be considered as bare stones, able to tell us the  events through its unique witness.   

On the occasion of the Rolli Days, 23  Palaces will open to the public together with 6 churches. As already happened during the last edition, it will be possible to visit also some suburban villas (the country dwellings belonging to the same aristocratic families who owned the Rolli Palaces).

On April 2016, the opening of Villa del Principe, the somptuous dwelling that belonged to Andrea Doria, a real masterpiece of Italian Renaissance, is already confirmed together with Villa Imperiale, in the East side of the city and, big news of this event, Villa Migone, a milestone in Genoa’s history.

Here is the  list of the openings:

Palaces:

1. Palazzo Tobia Pallavicino - Via Garibaldi 4 – interior is available for visits
2. Palazzo Angelo Giovanni Spinola - Via Garibaldi 5 – entrance hall is available for visits
3. Palazzo Nicolosio Lomellino - Via Garibaldi 7 – interior is available for visits
4. Palazzo Baldassarre Lomellini – Via Garibaldi 12 (on Saturday only) – interior is available for visits
5. Palazzo Luca Grimaldi (Musei di Strada Nuova - Palazzo Bianco) - Via Garibaldi 11 – interior is available for visits
6. Palazzo Nicolò Grimaldi (Musei di Strada Nuova - Palazzo Tursi) - Via Garibaldi 9 – interior is available for visits
7. Palazzo Ridolfo Maria e Gio Francesco I Brignole Sale (Musei di Strada Nuova - Palazzo Rosso) - Via Garibaldi 18 – interior is available for visits
8. Palazzo Gerolamo Grimaldi (Palazzo della Meridiana) - Salita San Francesco 4 – entrance hall is available for visits
9. Palazzo Stefano Lomellini (Palazzo Doria Lamba) -  Via Cairoli 18 – entrance hall is available for visits
10. Palazzo Giacomo Lomellini (Patrone) - Largo Zecca 2 – interior is available for visits
11. Palazzo De Ferrari Belimbau (Università degli Studi di Genova) – Piazza della Nunziata, 2 - interior is available for visits
12. Palazzo Nicolò Lomellini (Palazzo Lauro) - Piazza della Nunziata 5 – entrance hall is available for visits
13. Palazzo Giacomo e Pantaleo Balbi (Università degli Studi di Genova) - Via Balbi 4 – interior is available for visits
14. Palazzo Stefano Balbi (Museo di Palazzo Reale) - Via Balbi 10 – interior is available for visits
15. Palazzo Ponzone - Via Bensa 2 - interior is available for visits New entry 2016
16. Palazzo Centurione (Palazzo Durazzo Pallavicini) - Via Lomellini 8 - interior is available for visits
17. Palazzo Centurione - Via del Campo 1- interior is available for visits
18. Palazzo Francesco Grimaldi (Galleria Nazionale di Palazzo Spinola) - Piazza Pellicceria 1 – interior is available for visits
19. Palazzo Nicola Grimaldi - Vico San Luca 2 – interior is available for visits
20. Palazzo Ambrogio Di Negro – Via San Luca 2 – interior is available for visits
21. Palazzo Lercari Spinola - Via degli Orefici 7 – interior is available for visits
22. Palazzo Gio Vincenzo Imperiale - Piazza Campetto 8 – interior is available for visits
23. Palazzo De Marini Croce – Piazza De Marini, 1 - entrance hall is available for visits

Churches:

1. Chiesa della Santissima Annunziata
2. Chiesa e Oratorio di San Filippo Neri
3. Chiesa di San Siro
4. Chiesa di San Luca
5. Chiesa di San Pietro in Banchi
6. Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Vigne

Villas:

1. Villa del Principe – Piazza del Principe 4
2. Villa Imperiale - Via San Fruttuoso
3. Villa Migone – Via San Fruttuoso 68 New entry 2016

You can reserve a guided visit of a selection of palaces in English: open the reservation form. It's possible to reserve the tour also at the Tourist Information Office in via Garibaldi 12r and via al Porto Antico 2.

According to a precious and strengthened habit, students and researchers of the University of Genoa will provide visitors with artistic and historical information about the open palaces.