Palazzo Barbieri

Palazzo Barbieri, also known as Palazzo della Gran Guardia Nuova, is a Neoclassical palace in Verona, located in Piazza Bra, near the famous Arena di Verona. Today, the palace houses the city’s Town Hall.

SHORT HISTORY

Palazzo Barbieri was designed by the architect Giuseppe Barbieri, who was also the author of the Monumental Cemetery of Verona, and also participated in the construction of Palazzo della Gran Guardia.

The construction of the palace began in 1836 and was completed in 1848. During the Austrian occupation, the building was used mainly for military purposes, as the headquarters of the Imperial Royal Command of the City.

After the region of Veneto became part of the Kingdom of Italy, the palace was chosen as the seat of the Municipality of Verona.

On the night of February 23, 1945, in one of the most destructive bombings of World War II, Palazzo Barbieri was hit and badly damaged. After the war, it was quickly rebuilt and enlarged, after a design by the architects Raffaele Benatti and Guido Troiani, and inaugurated in March 1950.

ART AND ARCHITECTURE

The palace has an imposing facade, with a pronaos set on a central block, delimited by tall Corinthian semi-columns. After the damage suffered during the World War II, a semi-circle annex was added at the rear of the palace.

Inside, the Council Hall is dominated by the enormous canvas painted by Felice Brusasorzi depicting the victory of the Veronese over the Benacensi in the year 829. The painting was commissioned in 1595 to celebrate the city’s history.

The name of the Sala degli Arazzi (Tapestry Hall) derives from the textile artifacts that were placed here after World War II. The fabrics were restored in 1996.

In the hall, we can also find two paintings of the 16th century, one depicting the Feast in the House of Levi, by an unknown author, and the other depicting the victory of the Veronese in 1164 against Federico Barbarossa, a work of Paolo Farinati.

In the Sala di Rappresentanza (Representation Hall), there are four paintings from different eras. Here, we can find two paintings depicting Piazza delle Erbe, one painted in 1839 by Carlo Ferrari, and the other, by Angelo Dall’Oca Bianca, painted in 1903, and also two works by Eugenio Gignous.

HOW TO GET THERE

Palazzo Barbieri is located about 1.6 kilometers from the Verona Porta Nuova railway station. The closest bus station is near the palace, on the bus Lines 11, 12, 13, 51, 52, 78, 90, 92, 94, 96, 97, 98, 102, 161, 162, 163, 164 and 165.