37 Palaces to Explore in Italy

A majestic 135-acre building complex in a garden setting in the city of Castel Gandolfo, Italy. It consists of a 17th-century villa, an observatory, and a farmhouse with 75 acres of farmland. It has been a museum since October 2016. It served for centuries as a summer residence and vacation retreat for the pope, the leader of the Catholic Church, and is afforded extraterritorial status as one of the properties of the Holy See. It overlooks Lake Albano.

Palazzo Corvaja is a historic building in Taormina , which faces, on one side, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II called "della Badia" and Corso Umberto and on the other, Piazza Santa Caterina and Piazza Fabio Bonasera. Currently the first floor houses the museum of popular arts and traditions while on the ground floor there is the tourist information office.

A dazzling pink and white marble design and has been described - fairly accurately - as an oversized wedding cake. Much of the present building dates from the 15th century – although an earlier building on the spot may date back to the 9th century - and has been rebuilt and added on to several times. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the former Republic. It was built in 1340, and extended and modified in the following centuries. It became a museum in 19

The Palazzo Fortuny is a palazzo gothic of Venice located in the district of San Marco. It takes its name from the last owner, the artist Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, and is home to the homonymous museum. Today the museum is part of the Venice Civic Museums Foundation. Previously, the building was known as Palazzo Pesaro degli Orfei. The palace became for a time the seat of the Orfei Philharmonic Academy, hence the name Palazzo Pesaro degli Orfei, with which it was later known.

One of the most prestigious late Gothic palaces in Venice gathers up the important art collection of the Baron Giorgio Franchetti (1865-1927), who in 1916 donated his collections and the building itself to the Italian State, after having made it magnificent as in the past with some restorations. The inner courtyard mosaic was designed by the Baron himself. His grandson helped further his wish, stated in 1916, to make the house and his collection a museum.

The Giusti palace and garden are located in the homonymous street in Verona, near the center and a few tens of meters from Piazza Isolo. The palace was built in the 16th century with a classic U-shaped layout, together with the garden, considered one of the most beautiful examples of an Italian garden. The garden has been modified several times during its long life and was particularly well cared for after the Second World War.

Palazzo Mocenigo is a stately building in Venice, located at number 1992 in the Santa Croce district, along the salizada of San Stae. It is the seat of the Museum of Palazzo Mocenigo - Study Center of the History of Textiles, Costume and Perfume. The building consists of five levels: ground floor, mezzanine, two noble floors, and a mezzanine with an attic. The building also houses the Library of the Cinema Circuit.

The Norman Palace, also known as the Royal Palace, is located in Palermo and is currently the seat of the Sicilian Regional Assembly. The palace is the oldest royal residence in Europe, home to the kings of the Kingdom of Sicily, the imperial seat with Frederick II and Conrad IV and the historic Sicilian Parliament. On the first floor of the building stands the Palatine Chapel. The west wing is assigned to the Italian Army. It is one of the most visited monuments on the island.

Palazzo Abatellis is an ancient noble palace located in Palermo via Alloro, the main artery of the Kalsa district. It has been the seat of the Regional Gallery of Sicily since 1954. It was an example of Gothic-Catalan architecture, which was designed in the 15th century by Matteo Carnelivari, at the time working in Palermo at the palazzo Aiutamicristo. It was the residence of Francesco Abatellis, port master of the Kingdom of Sicily.

Palazzo Barberini is one of the most overlooked art museums in Rome. The 17th-century palace is incredibly centrally located – just around the corner from the quattro fontane and a few streets over from the Trevi Fountain. The sloping site had formerly been occupied by a garden-vineyard of the Sforza family, in which a palazzetto had been built in 1549. The sloping site passed from one cardinal to another during the sixteenth century, with no project fully getting off the ground.

Palazzo Biscari is the most important private palace in Catania. It was built at the behest of the Paternò Castello family of the Biscari princes starting from the end of the seventeenth century and for most of the following century, following the catastrophic earthquake of 11 January 1693. The palace is accessed through a large portal facing via Museo Biscari, leading to the inner courtyard, which features a large double staircase. In the interior is the "Feasts Hall", in Roccoco style.

The Palazzo Colonna is a block of palatial buildings in the center of the city of Rome, located at the base of the Quirinal Hill, and adjacent to the Basilica of the Holy Apostles. This majestic Palace was built on the ruins of an ancient Roman Serapeum and it has belonged to the prominent Colonna family for over twenty generations. One of the beautiful buildings which was a favourite spot for tourists.

Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo is a building late Gothic of Venice , located in the district of San Marco , near Campo Manin , and overlooking the Rio di San Luca. It has a simple, linear and elegant appearance. The palazzo was designed and built in its current form in the 15th century by the architect Giovanni Candi as one of the city residences of the Contarini family. It is now one of the tourist attractions in this area.

The Palazzo dei Consoli is located in Piazza Grande, in Gubbio, and represents one of the most impressive public buildings in Italy. The palace was the first building to have running water, used to power the splendid fountain located inside the palace. It was built between 1332 and 1349, according to some scholars on a project by Angelo da Orvieto, according to others on the project of the Eugubino Matteo Gattaponi. The architects were inspired by the disappeared Palazzo dei Capitani del Popolo

The Palazzo dei Priori or Comunale is one of the best examples in Italy of the public Palace of the età Comunale (XI century). It is in the central Piazza IV Novembre in Perugia, Umbria. It was the seat of the city's government and was designed to express civic pride and represent Perugia's strength and grandeur. Started in 1293, it underwent three additions and was completed in 1443.

The Palazzo del Podestà in Bologna overlooks Piazza Maggiore, in the heart of the city, together with the Palazzo Comunale and the Basilica of San Petronio. It was built around 1200, together with Piazza Maggiore as a building to carry out public functions and therefore the seat of the podestà and his officials. The current layout is very different from the original one also because the Palazzo Re Enzo was built later, between 1244 and 1246.

The Palazzo dell'Arengario is a building consisting of two twin buildings located in Piazza del Duomo in Milan. hardly you won't notice this 30's building and its art deco architecture. Several works of art from the 20th century, from futurism to Italian Arte Povera, are marvelously preserved in its rooms. In the 2000s, the palace was restored and adapted by Italo Rota and Fabio Fornasari to house the Museo del Novecento, a museum of twentieth-century art inaugurated in 2010, especially renowne

It is the Pisa’s second-largest square is one of the city’s most notable works of architecture. The palace is a stunning example of Renaissance architecture. Today, the building remains a center for education, but of a very different kind. Since the mid-19th century, the palace has been the premises of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, one of the most highly regarded universities in Italy. Designed by the famous Giorgio Vasari and built between 1562 and 1564.

The Palazzo della Corgna, also known as the ducal palace, is located near the Rocca del Leone and was the main residence of the della Corgna family who ruled the marquisate of Castiglione del Lago from 1563 to 1647, then duchy from 1617. Conceived as a small "palace", it was separated from the town and surrounded by a flourishing garden, celebrated by the court poet Cesare Caporali and by the political adviser Scipione Tolomei.

The Palazzo Della Pilotta, also called simply la Pilotta, is a vast complex of buildings located in the historic center of Parma, located between Piazzale della Pace and the Lungoparma. The name derives from the game of Basque pelota, played by Spanish soldiers in the courtyard of the Guazzatoio, originally called the pelota. It currently houses the National Archaeological Museum, the National Gallery, the Palatine Library, and the Bodonian Museum. In 2016, the complex attracted 89,478 visitors