Palace of Gio Francesco Balbi
University

The palace

In the second half of the sixteenth century, Gio Francesco Balbi created the first nucleus of the family's "domus magna" (i.e. the main residence) near the church of the Annunziata; in 1588 the palace was already present in a list of the Palazzi dei Rolli. Sold to the Cattaneo della Volta family in the 70s of the seventeenth century, it was completely redesigned and redecorated.

Why you should visit Palazzo Gio Francesco Balbi

Restored and partially rebuilt by Luigi Daneri after the Second World War, since 2001 it has been housing  the University  of Letters and Philosophy of the University of Genoa. In the hall on the second noble floor there is the Cattaneo picture gallery, which includes a group of 4 magnificent family portraits, the work of Vaymer and Pellegro Parodi.

Information

The Buildings of the University of Genoa are open during teaching and research hours; the spaces that house the classrooms can only be visited when lessons are not in progress.

• To find out all the information about the visit and to learn more about the collections, here is the link to the University of Genoa website: https://unige.it/ateneo/patrimonio-storico-artistico-universita-genova
• To learn more about the history of the Palace, here is the link to the page on the Rolli e Strade Nuove website: https://www.rolliestradenuove.it/en/rollo/27-palace-of-gio-francesco-balbi/