Rolli Days in Spring 2025

Rolli Days in Spring is an appointment with Genoa’s UNESCO World Heritage Palazzos held on 26-27 April and 3-4 May 2025, on the occasion of Euroflora

The Rolli Days are a unique opportunity to admire Genoa‘s Palazzi dei Rolli, declared collectively as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006. In spring, the light brings out the colours of Genoa and highlights its contrasts, such as these sumptuous aristocratic residences standing alongside narrow ‘caruggi’, or alleyways, “where God’s sunrays never reach“—to quote a song by Genoa-born singer-songwriter Fabrizio De Andrè.

The event

Three days of tours, special openings, explorations and extraordinary beauty accompanied by a science populariser, who will take visitors on a discovery of monumental buildings, sumptuous decorations and immortal masterpieces in an astonishing city that was a popular destination for artists in the modern era’s golden age. The Rolli Days include many scheduled events: you can visit 50 sites, 10 sacred buildings, 11 villas, 2 archives and 1 historical library, as well as attending operas, concerts, shows and, for the first time ever, a special non-competitive race through the historical city centre. In 2025, the Rolli Days are scheduled to take place on 26-27 April and 3-4 May, at the same time as Euroflora.

Palazzi dei Rolli

In 1576, the Republic of Genoa established an official list (later called Rolli, hence the name ‘Palazzi dei Rolli’) of prestigious Palazzos, obliging their owners to host state visits in return. The palace chosen to host visiting guests depended on their rank: the higher the noble rank, the more sumptuous the palace had to be. The Rolli became a housing model for nobility throughout Europe. The Palazzi dei Rolli consist of more than 100 aristocratic residences, 42 of which are included in the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites. Located in the heart of Genoa, these ancient aristocratic palaces house priceless works of art: evocative architectural features, courtyards, gardens, statues, galleries and splendid ceilings frescoed by the greatest painters of the time.

For information on which Rolli palazzos can be visited and how, and for any last-minute updates, see: https://landing.visitgenoa.it.