Rolli Days in Genoa returns: the ancient palaces of the nobles open their doors to all. The full program

The appointment with the Rolli Days in Genoa returns on May 19 and 20, for the first edition of 2018: again this year many ancient palaces of Genoese nobles will open their doors to the public, citizens and tourists. There are two main novelties for the May 2018 edition: the opening of the world-famous Palazzo San Giorgio, which will be part of Rolli Days for the first time, and the unprecedented opening of two palaces in Piazza de Ferrari: Palazzo Doria De Fornari and Palazzo Doria De Ferrari-Galliera. These new openings are then joined by the extraordinary opening of the Banca Carige picture gallery, the exhibition of Giulio Cesare Procaccini’sLast Supper at the Basilica of the Santissima Annunziata del Vastato, the exhibition of 16th-century tapestries at Palazzo Tursi, and initiatives at the State Archives, the Museum of Palazzo Reale and the National Gallery at Palazzo Spinola.

Also confirmed is the opening of the Villa del Principe and the Albergo dei Poveri. As usual, the tours will be conducted by students and researchers from theUniversity of Genoa, who will be supported by high school students who will be given logistical and organizational support tasks. Also planned are paid tours led by licensed tour guides who will conduct thematic tours in Italian or English with the possibility of family visits. It will be possible to purchase tours online in advance at www.visitenoga.it (where you can also find the complete Rolli Days program as well as all the relevant information) or in person at the IAT Offices (tours are organized by the Tourist Guides Association and IAT - Tourist Information and Reception). There is also space for guided tours dedicated to the disabled.

Below is the program of the two tour routes:

Route 1. “From the Sea to the Walls”
The relationship with the sea has been foundational for Genoa throughout its history. A continuous and constant relationship that has generated wealth, prestige, power and urban, economic and artistic development for the city. From Palazzo San Giorgio, the ancient “palace of the sea” commissioned by Simon Boccanegra, we cross the city going up it and encountering the great palaces built by the ruling aristocracy thanks to the proceeds of trade and financial investments, to arrive - through the square named after Duke Raffaele De Ferrari, the man who in the 19th century built the port as we know it today - to Palazzo Doria Spinola, close to the walls that closed the city to the north until the urban expansion of the 19th century.
Among the new features of this edition is the opening of Palazzo San Giorgio (for the first time included in the Rolli Days itineraries), which will be narrated thanks to the accompaniment of science popularizers from the University of Genoa. The other two magnificent newly opened palaces, for the first time with the presence of science popularizers from the University of Genoa, will be Palazzo Doria De Fornari and Palazzo Doria De Ferrari-Galliera: the first, Palazzo Doria De Fornari (Piazza De Ferrari 4), by modifying its architectural and decorative structure in parallel with the transformations of the square and the area on which it overlooks from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, makes it possible to read with great evidence the stratification of the city and its buildings; the second (Rolli of 1588, 1599, 1614), Palazzo Doria De Ferrari-Galliera (Piazza De Ferrari 3), a splendid example of Renaissance and Baroque ’rollo’ with fresco and stucco decorations from the early seventeenth century to the height of the eighteenth century, was the residence in the nineteenth century of the aforementioned Duke Raffaele De Ferrari (1803-1876) who, by donating in 1875 the very large grant of 20 million for the enlargement and improvement of the port of Genoa, transformed the face and fate of a city.

Along the way, the opening of the splendid Carige Bank Picture Gallery is confirmed: paintings, majolica, prints and coins draw a path within the history of the ancient Republic of Genoa.

1) San Giorgio Palace
2) Palazzo Ambrogio Di Negro (via San Luca 2)
3) Palazzo Gio. Batta Lercari then Spinola (via Orefici 7)
4) Vincenzo Imperiale Palace (piazza Campetto 8)
5) Palazzo Gio. Stefano Doria (vico Falamonica 9R) Restaurant The Cook, open to visitors from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. and 4 p.m.-6 p.m.)
6) Palazzo Doria De Ferrari Galliera (piazza De Ferrari 3)
7) Palazzo Doria De Fornari (piazza De Ferrari 4)
8) Carige Bank Picture Gallery
9) Palazzo Antonio Doria then Spinola (Prefecture) (Largo Lanfranco 1)

Route 2. “One City, Three New Streets”

To understand the history of Genoa, it is necessary to immerse oneself in its culture and the multiple languages adopted by its aristocracy to highlight its power and hard-won international influence. Via Garibaldi, Via Balbi and Via Cairoli represent for the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the monumental expression of the city’s political and cultural elites. Through the magnificent palaces, important fresco cycles and collections gathered here, even today the stories of the men who made Genoa a Capital of the Mediterranean manage to narrate its unique grandeur and prestige. On Via Balbi, the evocative space of the University’s Botanical Garden will also be open for visits.

1) Palazzo Tobia Pallavicino (via Garibaldi 4)
2) Palazzo Franco Lercari then Parodi (via Garibaldi 3) - the second noble floor only Saturday morning and Sunday morning
3) Palazzo Nicolosio Lomellino (via Garibaldi 7) (atrium and courtyard with nymphaeum; reduced-price guided tours of interior and garden)
4) Palazzo Nicolò Grimaldi (Strada Nuova Museums- Palazzo Tursi) (via Garibaldi 9)
5) Luca Grimaldi Palace (Strada Nuova Museums- Palazzo Bianco) (via Garibaldi 11)
6) Brignole Sale Palace (Musei di Strada Nuova- Palazzo Rosso) (via Garibaldi 18)
7) Palazzo Gerolamo Grimaldi (Palazzo della Meridiana) and exhibition Van Dyck and his friends
8) Palazzo Balbi Doria Lamba - (via Cairoli) atrium only
9) Palazzo Lomellini Patrone (E.I. Territorial Command) -Visits on Palazzo Balbi Senarega - (via Balbi 4)
10)Athenaeum Palace - former Jesuit College - (via Balbi 5)
11)Botanical Garden - (University - Friends of the Botanical Garden)

The full program of side events follows:

- At the Church of the Santissima Annunziata del Vastato: After a major restoration and exhibition in the exhibition “The Last Caravaggio” at the Gallerie d’Italia in Milan, the extraordinary canvas of the Last Supper painted by Giulio Cesare Procaccini for the friars of the convent of the Annunziata returns to Genoa. While waiting for the work’s proper acclimatization to be verified, the painting will remain on display at ground level, allowing citizens and tourists to admire it up close in all its impressive magnificence. During Rolli Days, Scientific Divulgators from the University of Genoa will be present to tell the story of the work.

- At the Strada Nuova Museums - Palazzo Tursi, The Garden of the Goddess Pomona: presentation to the public of three magnificent tapestries set up on the occasion of Euroflora 2018; three striking and exquisitely crafted 16th-century cloths woven in the late 16th and early 17th centuries in Brussels, related to the theme of the garden, flowers and fruits, in the sign of the patron deity of Nature’s munificence and generosity, the goddess Pomona.

- Friday, May 18 - curated by the National Gallery of Palazzo Spinola, “A Barcheggio to make merry in Genoa’s Old Port”: as a finissage of the Genova d’argento exhibition, which will close on Sunday, May 20, and on the occasion of the Rolli Days weekend, the National Gallery of Palazzo Spinola proposes to experience the ancient use of Barcheggio in Genoa’s Old Port on board the motorship “Città di Camogli.”

- On the occasion of Rolli Days, the Museum of Palazzo Reale, in addition to its normal opening to the public, offers the possibility (exclusively on Sunday mornings and by compulsory reservation) to visit some spaces of the ancient church of San Vittore, now completely transformed. During Rolli Days, reduced admission for 1 euro to the exhibition “The New King. Charles Albert in the Royal Palace of Genoa.”

- At the State Archives, In the Palazzetto Criminale venue: open from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. non-stop (reservations required). The documents of the Rolli will be on display and the graffiti of the Guard Corps and prisoners (16th-17th centuries) will be open to visitors. On the occasion, the volume “Superbe carte. I Rolli dei palazzi di Genova” (Genoa State Archives, May 2018).
At the Monumental Complex of St. Ignatius - Saturday 19 only - Documentary Exhibition “The House of St. George: public finance and credit,” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (with guided tour at 10 a.m.).

- At Palazzo della Meridiana, reduced-price admission for the exhibition “Van Dyck and His Friends”: fifty works including paintings, drawings and engravings, including eight works by Van Dyck, selected from museums and private collections to offer the public a fine distillation of this exceptional moment in European art history. The arcaded courtyard will be free to visit; Sala del Cambiaso 3 euros; for the exhibition Van Dyck and His Friends reduced ticket 5 euros.

- At Palazzo Lomellino, free access: atrium and courtyard with nymphaeum of Phaeton. Guided tours (at a reduced rate) to the interiors of the First Noble Floor and the Secret Garden (accessibility only to the atrium nymphaeum)

- At Palazzo Imperiale di Camp etto (Campetto, 8a - Piano Nobile), exhibition: The Return of Gio. Vincenzo Imperiale. Under the vaults frescoed by Luca Cambiaso, part of Giovanni Vincenzo Imperiale’s collection, one of the most important in Europe in the first half of the 17th century, returns to take shape. It will be possible to retrace Gio. Vincenzo’s astonishing career as a man of letters, collector and patron through his Vandyckian portrait (on public display for the first time and recently restored) and thanks to some precious illustrated volumes from the 16th century that echo the mansion’s frescoes. “Guest” of honor, the large canvas (now kept at the Strada Nuova Museums) that was part of the collection and depicts the Imperial family against the backdrop of the famous garden of the Sampierdarena villa. The only evidence of a garden that, unfortunately, has disappeared today. So has the Genoese aristocrat’s collection, capable, however, of being revived within a unique and highly prestigious exhibition. Exceptionally, for Rolli Days only, admission and guided tours of the exhibition will be free.

- Visiting itineraries to the borough’s most interesting places will be suggested in the Carmine district, with tales, stories and curiosities (by the Association “CarMine, citizens on the move,” Saturday and Sunday, hours 10am-7pm). The Parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Agnes will open the parish building and the deconsecrated church of St. Bartholomew dell’Olivella, with in-depth tours.

- the Cathedral of St. Lawrence celebrates 900 years since its consecration: the Cathedral, Diocesan Museum and Treasure Museum complex will offer family activities and special tours for Rolli Days.

Rolli Days in Genoa returns: the ancient palaces of the nobles open their doors to all. The full program

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.