Palazzo Rosso in Genoa is a charming building located at number 18 Via Garibaldi, in the heart of Genoa’s historical centre. This palace with its sumptuous atmosphere and fascinating history is also known as Palazzo Ridolfo and Gio.Francesco I Brignole-Sale, named after the first owners. On 13 July 2006, it was included in the prestigious list of the 42 palaces inscribed in the Rolli of Genoa, thus becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This sumptuous mansion-museum, built between 1671 and 1677 for the brothers Ridolfo and Gio Francesco I Brignole-Sale, is an important testimony to the art and culture of the 17th century and the Genoese Baroque. In 1874, the Duchess of Galliera, the last descendant of the Brignole-Sale family, donated Palazzo Rosso to the City of Genoa. Since then, it has become a place of great cultural importance for the citizens, preserving its original character and opening its extraordinary collection of Italian and Flemish art, together with precious historical furnishings, to the public.
In this article, we explore the hidden wonders inside the Palazzo Rosso in Genoa, from Baroque works of art to the original furnishings donated by the Brignole-Sale family. You will discover why this palace is a must-see for lovers of art, history and culture when visiting Genoa.
PALAZZO ROSSO IN GENOA, IN SHORT
The Brignole-Sale collection: masterpieces of the Italian and Flemish 15th-17th century schools.
18th-century flat of Anton Giulio II Brignole-Sale. Temporary exhibitions. Educational spaces.
The Apartments of Gio. Francesco I and Gio. Francesco II Brignole-Sale. 17th-18th century frescoes and historical paintings.
“L’appartamento di un amatore d’arte’, the 1955 installation by Franco Albini for Caterina Marcenaro.
The 19th century of the Brignole-Sale family. The library and furnishings of the residences of the Dukes of Galliera between Genoa and Paris.
Panoramic terrace with a 360° view of Genoa’s historic centre. It is currently closed to visitors.
Things to know and not to miss about Palazzo Rosso
The two noble floors rich in art and history
The Palazzo Rosso was built with two noble residential floors, assigned by lot between the two brothers Ridolfo and Gio.Francesco Brignole Sale. Originally Gio.Francesco I, who was the second son, got the first noble floor, where he lived for a short time. Then when Ridolfo died without heirs in 1683, the whole building became the property of Gio.Francesco I. The latter decided to move to the second floor while the first floor was left to his father-in-law Giuseppe Maria Durazzo, who placed his collection of works, mostly of the Venetian school, here.
Gio.Francesco I actually preferred the second piano nobile to the first and therefore decided to embellish it by decorating the vaults and walls with frescoes. He commissioned the greatest Genoese fresco masters such as Domenico Piola, Gregorio De Ferrari and Giovanni Andrea Carlone for this work. These artists challenged the imagination of their contemporaries with daring and illusionistic compositions: their creativity knew no bounds and they compared themselves to the equally innovative decorations created in the same period in Rome and Naples by leading figures such as Giovanni Lanfranco, Pietro da Cortona and Luca Giordano.
It was the same Gio.Francesco I who used some rooms on the second floor as reception areas, giving here an initial location to the picture gallery, which was later enlarged by another Gio.Francesco (second) enriching further rooms with paintings. Currently on the first floor of Palazzo Rosso we find works by Veronese, Reni, Guercino, Strozzi, Grechetto and Dürer, while on the second floor we can admire the famous portraits by Van Dyck. We will now analyse two of the most famous works still preserved here in Palazzo Rosso: ‘Portrait of Paolina Adorno Brignole-Sale’, oil on canvas by Antoon Van Dyck, and ‘La Cuoca’ by Bernardo Strozzi.
The portrait of Paolina Adorno Brignole-Sale
Antoon Van Dyck’s portrait of Paolina Adorno Brignole-Sale stands out as one of his greatest works among those depicting individual ladies during the painter’s Genoese period. This work follows a compositional scheme that the artist embraced at different stages of his career. In this extraordinary representation, all the distinctive features of Van Dyck’s art converge: the full figure and bust rotated three-quarters, a direct and engaging gaze towards the viewer, the setting in a majestic space characterised by mighty columns, sumptuous loggias and deep red drapes.
The Art of Antoon Van Dyck
The richness of the details is remarkable, and two aspects stand out particularly strongly here: the presence of the animals and, above all, the magnificence of the parade costumes. The dress worn by Paolina is rendered in an extraordinary manner, with an astonishing skill in the use of colour. The fabric is painted with a thin layer of blue to give life to the weave, while for the golden ornaments a denser material is used, a sort of paste coloured in yellow and white, evoking the gold of embroidery. This meticulous attention to detail highlights Van Dyck’s technical virtuosity and his ability to capture the lustre and luminosity of materials.
Paolina Adorno Brignole-Sale, portrayed here at the height of her youth, in her early twenties, is at the centre of the composition. However, this representation goes beyond mere aesthetics, incorporating allegorical elements as well. The parrot, probably painted by Jan Roos, occupies a significant role in the work. Its feathers scattered on the cushion and the fully bloomed rose in Pauline’s right hand are both eloquent symbols of the fleeting nature of beauty, just as the rose is destined to fade with time.
"La Cuoca" by Bernardo Strozzi
Undoubtedly Bernardo Strozzi’s most famous masterpiece, this painting, universally known as the ‘La Cuoca’ (The Cook), captures a moment of extraordinary immediacy in which a maid is absorbed in the act of plucking a goose, surrounded by chickens and pigeons, while a mighty turkey hangs behind her. The setting is the kitchen of a sumptuous 17th century Genoese aristocratic residence.
In the families of the local aristocracy at that time, the role of cook was reserved exclusively for men, while women were given less important tasks such as plucking poultry. The work therefore depicts an everyday activity of modest social status. Yet the elegant chiselled silver tinware standing out in the foreground, its handle adorned with a female figure, immediately reveals the noble ambience in which this domestic scene takes place.
The painting is first mentioned in the 1683-1684 register of Gio. Francesco I Brignole-Sale, the patron of Palazzo Rosso. Initially, the painting was placed in the family villa on the Albaro hill from the second decade of the 18th century until at least 1774. This location, less prestigious than the main residence, may have been chosen due to the prosaic and everyday nature of the subject, which was perhaps considered unsuitable for the elegance of the city palace, whose art collection was mainly enriched by works with historical and religious themes from the late 17th and early 18th century.
The Art of Bernardo Strozzi
Strozzi’s work represents an extraordinary fusion of different influences that characterised Genoese painting in the first decades of the 17th century. On the one hand, one glimpses the Flemish influence that favoured depictions of kitchens, markets and pantries, a style already present in Genoese collections since the mid-16th century thanks to works by painters such as Aertsen and Beuckelaer. On the other hand, the new focus on the still life genre emerges, encouraged by the presence of Flemish artists such as Jan Roos and Giacomo Liegi in the city. Finally, one notices the growing naturalism of Caravaggio’s matrix, which represented the other pole of innovation in the local art school. This style is combined with Strozzi’s distinctive material brushstrokes.
From an iconographic point of view, the artist’s intention to deal with the representation of popular subjects is clearly evident, showing an interest in reality that was still unheard of for Genoese painters. This approach is particularly surprising considering the religious milieu Strozzi came from. However, it is possible that beyond this immediate reading, the painting conceals deeper symbolic meanings. Some scholars have suggested that the painting might contain an allegorical allusion to the four elements, represented by the birds for air, the sought-after silver basin for water, the figure of the cook for earth, and the fire that Strozzi depicts majestically crackling under the cauldron.
The 19th-century residence of the Brignole-Sale family
Moving up a floor and leaving the baroque ambience behind, we find ourselves in more modern surroundings. The fifth floor of the palace now houses the living room and library of Antonio Brignole-Sale and some of the furnishings from the French residence of his daughter Maria and her husband Raffaele de Ferrari, who lived from 1854 until their death in Paris. Antonio Brignole-Sale, his wife Artemisia Negrone and daughters Maria and Luisa were the last descendants of the noble family to live in Palazzo Rosso, residing in the flats on the upper floors in the first half of the 19th century.
In Palazzo Rosso, the western spaces of the upper floor were inhabited by this family, and although time has taken them away, it has graciously preserved their traces in the form of sophisticated furniture. Antonio Brignole-Sale, a person of great refinement, had commissioned the English cabinetmaker Henry Thomas Peters, active in Genoa in the first half of the 19th century, to create furniture that embodied supreme elegance. This furniture now adorns the drawing room and library of Palazzo Rosso, offering a glimpse of the luxury that permeated the life of the Brignole-Sale family. The current display in these rooms allows us to immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of those ancient times, when knowledge and culture were at the centre of aristocratic life.
Donation to the city
In 1874, Maria Brignole-Sale and a delegate of her son Filippo de Ferrari signed the deed of donation to the City of Genoa. This generous donation was an idea initiated by Antonio and ultimately set out as a testamentary will by Luisa (1822-1868), the sister of the future Duchess of Galliera.
After donating the residence and works of art to the Palazzo Rosso, Maria Brignole-Sale wished to donate some furniture, paintings and personal objects from her French residence, the Hôtel de Matignon, to the city of Genoa. In these rooms, the atmosphere of two rooms of the Hôtel de Matignon is ideally reconstructed with the original furnishings. A drawing room and a bedroom are brought to life thanks to furniture made by famous artists of the time, suppliers to the court and Parisian high society.
The bedroom houses a suite of furniture made around 1830 by Jean-Jacques Werner, a renowned Swiss cabinetmaker active in Paris. These pieces of furniture, veneered in ash burl and decorated with gilded bronzes, embody the style of the period. Of particular interest are the chests of drawers without visible locks, concealed by small sliding bronze elements, a touch of aesthetics that made them perfect in the eyes of their contemporaries.
HELPFUL INFORMATION FOR YOUR VISIT OF THE PALAZZO ROSSO IN GENOA
The Strada Nuova Museums
Palazzo Rosso is part, together with Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo Doria-Tursi, of the museum itinerary of the Strada Nuova Museums. ‘Strada Nuova’ was how today’s Via Garibaldi was historically called, a street of unique charm onto which these three noble residences overlook. The route runs through more than seventy-five rooms, making it the largest museum of ancient art in Genoa.
Opening hours of Palazzo Rosso and Strada Nuova Museums
from 1 November
Tuesday to Friday 9 a.m. – 6.30 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday 9.30 a.m. – 6.30 p.m.
closed: non-holiday Mondays
For more information see the Musei di Strada Nuova website.
Tickets for Palazzo Rosso and the Strada Nuova Museums
The single full-price ticket to visit Palazzo Rosso, Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo Doria-Tursi, i.e. the Strada Nuova Museums costs €9 (reduced €7).
Palazzo Rosso is also among the museums included in the “Genova Museum Card”, a comprehensive ticket for visiting 28 Genoese museums. It is valid for 24 hours and costs €15.
