Visit Rome’s first great Renaissance palace.
From starting as a residential palace to a pope to becoming the headquarters of a dictator, Palazzo Venezia has seen it all – and now you can too. Visit this magnificent palace to learn more about centuries of culture and history or simply bask in its beauty.
Highlights
- Marvel at the dramatic splendor of the halls of the Apartamento Barbo, the original core of the palace.
- Explore Palazzo Venezia’s garden, an oasis of peace in an otherwise busy square.
- See the museum’s eclectic collection of Byzantine and Renaissance art and artifacts.
Tickets & Prices
Palazzo Venezia, as well as being home to a fantastic museum, also regularly hosts events and activities. Below is a list of the different ticket options. Find out which one suits you best.
Standard Entrance Ticket
This ticket grants you access to the National Museum of the Palazzo Venezia, the Central Museum of the Risorgimento, and the Panoramic Terrace at the Vittoriano.
- Choose your timeslot online and book your tickets. The tickets will arrive in your email inbox.
- The ticket is valid for seven days starting from the day of your booked timeslot.
- EU citizens aged from 18 to 25 can enjoy a reduced price.
- EU citizens under 18 go free.
Entrance Ticket + 1 Guided Tour
This ticket is the same as the standard entrance ticket, and the booking process, as well as the reduced and free tickets, are the same prices, but it also includes one free guided tour of Palazzo Venezia and its museum.
- The tour is available in either English or Italian.
- The tour lasts 45 minutes.
- Free tours are only available on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Book your preferred tour timeslot online and arrive 10 minutes before the designated time at the ticket office of Palazzo Venezia.
Entrance Ticket + 1 Activity
This ticket is the same as the standard entrance ticket, and the booking process, as well as the reduced and free tickets, are the same prices, but it also includes one free activity hosted by the Palazzo Venezia.
- Activities are only available on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Book your preferred tour timeslot online and arrive 15 minutes before the designated time at the ticket office of Palazzo Venezia.
- Each activity lasts two hours.
- Only certain activities are available in English.
- For more information on the different activities available during your visit, head to the vive.beniculturali.it website and select tickets.
Paid Guided Tour
This ticket grants you access to special areas of the Palazzo Venezia, such as the palazzo depots or the roof walkway, with a guided tour.
- Certain tours are in English. Others are only available in Italian.
- Book your preferred tour timeslot online and arrive 15 minutes before the designated time at the ticket office of Palazzo Venezia.
- Each tour lasts 45 minutes.
- For more information on the different tours available during your visit, head to the vive.beniculturali.it website and select tickets.
- EU citizens aged from 18 to 25 can enjoy a reduced price.
- EU citizens under 18 go free.
Free Tours and Free Events
Palazzo Venezia also hosts free tours and events on Fridays. For more details about upcoming events, check out the vive.beniculturali.it website and select tickets.
- Reserve your free ticket online.
- Arrive 10 minutes before the designated time at the entrance of Palazzo Venezia.
What to See and Do
Palazzo Venezia presents a wonderful mix of history, art, architecture, and greenery. You can spend many hours admiring all it has to offer. Here’s what you shouldn’t miss.
The Exterior
The imposing and sober exterior of the palace resembles a fortress, complete with a stately tower and a patrol walkway circling the roof of the building. The main façade (facing the square) is divided into three levels by the different types of windows and has a distinctly 15th-century style. The balcony was added later, in the 18th century.
Attached to the side of the palazzo is the minor basilica of St. Mark the Evangelist, the national church of Venice in Rome. The beautiful two-tiered loggia on its façade can be accessed from inside the palace, and from it, you can see spectacular views of the monumental Vittoriano.
The Interior
The beautiful and ornately decorated interior is a complete surprise after the severity of the exterior.
One of the major highlights includes the Barbo Apartment, a suite of seven rooms that belonged to the original owner of the palace, Pietro Barbo. These beautiful rooms contain some of his original collections of metalwork and numismatics.
You also shouldn’t miss the Sala del Mappamondo (World Map Room), named so because it used to feature a planisphere, now unfortunately lost. This room was originally used as a reception room for the popes, and it was later used as Mussolini’s headquarters. The room is ornately decorated with a gilded ceiling, marble floor, and painted columns on the walls.
The National Museum
The collection of the National Museum features Byzantine, Medieval, and early Renaissance art, containing paintings, ceramics, tapestries, metalwork, sculptures, and everything in between.
The collection is spread out throughout various rooms of the palace, such as the rooms of the Cybo Apartment and the Altoviti Room, which contains a famous painting by Giorgione.
The Garden
Enter the courtyard of the palace, and you’ll forget that you’re standing in the bustling city center of Rome. Transformed into a garden during the nineteenth century, it now contains towering palm trees and a relaxing fountain. It’s surrounded by a magnificent two-tiered cloister, originally intended by Barbo to be a viridarium (a hanging garden).
Free for all to enter, the garden is the perfect place to take a break from the chaotic city or to sit and admire the architecture of the palace that surrounds it.
Directions
Palazzo Venezia is situated on Piazza Venezia, a busy square right in the city center of Rome. It’s very easily accessible by public transport, and it’s also easy to walk to from other nearby sites.
Address
Via del Plebiscito, 118
Metro
Line A – Barberini (15 min.)
Line B – Colosseo (12 min.)
Bus
Lines 30, 46, 51, 60, 62, 63, 64, 70, 80, 81, 83, 85, 87, 118, 119, 160, and 170 all stop near the palazzo.
Tram
Line 8 has its terminal nearby.
On Foot
Colosseum (13 min.)
Piazza di Spagna (17 min.)
Pantheon (9 min.)
Did You Know That: 5 Interesting Facts
- Palazzo Venezia is the oldest remaining building on Piazza Venezia because the Medieval neighborhood surrounding the piazza was torn down to make way for the imposing Altar of the Fatherland.
- Travertine (white limestone) taken from the Colosseum and the Teatro di Marcello were used in the construction of the palace.
- During the years of fascism, the lights in the world map room (Mussolini’s headquarters) were never turned off, symbolizing that the government never rested.
- In 2010 Mussolini’s unfinished secret bunker was found beneath the palace.
- The building (Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali) across the piazza from Palazzo Venezia was constructed in the early 20th century and was designed to mirror the old palace.
History
- Palazzo Venezia was built between 1455 and 1467 by the Venetian Cardinal, Pietro Barbo, to be used as his personal residence. He later became Pope Paul II.
- The palace remained a papal residence until 1564, when Pope Pius IV gave most of the building over to the Republic of Venice to serve as its embassy. This is how the palace got its name
- In 1797, following Napoleonic victories in Italy, the palace was established as the seat for the Austrian ambassador to the Vatican, as agreed upon between the French and the Austrians in the Treaty of Campoformio.
- In 1916, during WWI, when Italy was at war with Austria-Hungary, Italy recovered the building and transformed it into a national museum of medieval and Renaissance art.
- In 1929, fascist dictator Benito Mussolini used the palace as the seat of his government and also as his private residence. He would often give notorious speeches from the balcony facing Piazza Venezia.
- Palazzo Venezia was also the setting where the fascist regime came to an end. Mussolini was dismissed and arrested by the king following a coup at the palace.
- Today, the palace has returned to housing a museum and is visited by thousands of people a year.
Address: National Museum of the Palazzo di Venezia, Via del Plebiscito 118, 00186 Roma, Italy · view larger map