Map

Palazzo delle Esposizioni is the largest interdisciplinary exhibition area in the centre of Rome: more than 10,000 square metres of space on three floors, Level 0, 1 and 2, host cultural events and offer services to visitors.
The Palazzo will also have a 139-seats Cinema , an Auditorium (multimedia hall for 90 people) and a Forum (multifunctional hall), as well as a 290 sq.m. café , a 400 sq.m. restaurant for 240 people and a 470 sq.m. bookshop.

After five years of restoration work and upgrading of its systems and facilities, Palazzo delle Esposizioni is a space for culture and ideas at an international level, offering visitors high quality projects with excellent technological standards, and efficient and modern hospitality facilities for guests. It is one of the most up-to-date cultural centres, engaging in continuous fruitful exchanges with the most important international cultural institutions.

With the reopening of Palazzo delle Esposizioni, the Azienda Speciale Palaexpo confirms and strengthens its primary role in Italy as an organization offering integrated services: from art exhibitions to film festivals, from theatre to photography, and from music to presentations of books and events.

THE PALAZZO DELLE ESPOSIZIONI: HISTORY OF THE BUILDING AND ITS PRINCIPAL CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

In 1874 the construction of the new station (from plans by Salvatore Bianchi) was completed and thus the need for a strongly visible connecting link with the city centre came to be of pressing importance: Via Nazionale consequently became a prominent road axis in the new development of the city, with the striking design of Piazza Esedra (then Piazza delle Terme), which in Koch's project, put into effect between 1886 and 1890, retraced the course of the ancient Roman baths complex of the Thermae Diocletiani, with a reference to ancient Rome that Michelangelo had also proposed for the construction of Santa Maria degli Angeli. Leading off from this grand piazza, which offers a monumental welcome to anyone arriving at the station, the broad Via Nazionale, extended to Piazza Venezia, connected up with the city's historic centre.

At the time, the choices regarding urban planning, the location of the most important buildings, and the results of the competition gave rise to a heated debate about the construction of a modern city that had, of necessity, to be incorporated within a very complex urban fabric, which risked being drastically breached with every choice. As the mayor, Luigi Pianciani, wrote in 1882, “Rome is the greatest museum in the world, but as a capital city it is not satisfying the needs of the present … It is not a city authority to be administered, it is the greatest of ancient metropolises to be respected, and it is a modern metropolis to be created.”

The competition for the Palazzo delle Esposizioni Nazionali di Belle Arti (National Fine Arts Exhibition Building) should be seen within this context: that of planning the construction of particularly representative buildings, and of equipping the city with all the necessary structures for its new function as the capital city. So the desire was to create a building which enhanced the city's cultural vocation, the first in Italy to be completely devoted to Fine Arts though not actually a museum, which would regularly document past and present artistic history while holding its own against comparison with the other great European models.

An initial competition was announced in 1876, without establishing any designated area but leaving freedom of choice to the planners (some suggested the Piazza del Popolo), and without indicating the amount of money to be allocated to it. It was a very vague announcement which gave few indications of any substance; it states: “The building for the aforesaid national Exhibition, on an area to be designated, should occupy a space of 4,000 square metres, on two floors only, and may be surrounded by gardens.” Forty projects were presented, and were displayed at the Collegio Romano. A little more than a year later a second competition was published indicating the area in Via Nazionale considered to be the most suitable area for the representative character that the building was to have, and thus it was no accident that it was located in this important urban area representing the central access route to the historic city centre. Seventy-four projects were presented.

After much controversy, and not without some indecision among the commission judges, the winning place was awarded to the project by Pio Piacentini, labelled with the motto ‘Sit quod vis simplex et unum' (In the end, make it as you will, as long as it is a simple and unified composition). The construction work only started in 1880 and the building was inaugurated at a solemn ceremony in 1883.

Pio Piacentini was born in Rome in 1846 and during his architectural training at the Accademia di San Luca, of which he later became president, he absorbed that purist tendency which dominated the city under Pio IX. In his projects, as in those of many of his contemporary Roman architects, heirs to an academic culture, attention was given mainly to design, rather than to the urban context in which the building was to be located. Piacentini was aware of this problem as regards the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, however, (the limited space, the restricted margin of access onto the street, the drop down onto Via Nazionale, later accentuated by the construction of  the tunnel) and, as we will see, he later sought to provide solutions that were not implemented.

The Palazzo delle Esposizioni restoration project had two fundamental aims: to requalify the spaces and update them both at a functional and technological level, and to marry the monumental architecture of the original building designed by Piacentini with innovative contemporary elements. The result is a perfect harmony between the monumentality of the building and the contemporaneity of the architecture. 

The restoration began in 2003, on the basis of an integrated tender. Architect Firouz Galdo developed the final project, while architect Paolo Desideri was responsible for the executive project. The latter also designed the Serra, the stunning new 2000sq m restaurant with a capacity of 250. Architect Michele De Lucchi was the artistic director of the project, and also designed the lighting, furnishings and signage.

The technological update consisted in the installation of a new climatization system that conforms with the international technical standards set by the museums who lend works; more sophisticated security measures for the works themselves and visitors; and the consolidation of the building's static structures by architect Paolo Rocchi, which involved lengthy and complex analyses and considerable reinforcement.
The cost of the restoration and consolidation work amounted to a total of 28 million euros.

The functional restructuring of the Palazzo consisted in, among other things, the expansion of commercial spaces and the creation of the Cinema, Auditorium and Forum, all equipped with state-of-the-art technologies.
The spaces are arranged as follows: the main commercial activities are concentrated on the ground floor, beneath the main exhibition space, at the Via Milano level. These include a bookshop, a centre specializing in art and related merchandising, a café and educational areas. The exhibition spaces are located on the upper floors and cover over 3000sq  m.

Firouz Galdo and Michele De Lucchi studied in depth the problem of creating a fine balance between the artworks and the imposing architecture of the Palazzo. To prevent the building from encroaching on the works and vice versa, the exhibition spaces have been equipped with a system of vertical display walls that cover the actual walls of the rooms and create an ideal neutral, uniform background. This both defines the display space and prevents temporary exhibitions from invading the historical building – the monument – while, at the same time, isolating the layout from the decoration of the Palazzo. Greater visual comfort is ensured by the mobile ceilings containing the light fittings, especially designed by Michele De Lucchi, which are versatile, unify all the spaces and supplement, where necessary, the daylight entering through the skylights.

To facilitate access to exhibitions, the building has been equipped with new lifts for the public and another for the staff and transporting works, which departs from the storerooms, customs' and other offices, and bypasses the exhibition rooms.
A great effort has been made, also financially, to find solutions to all the problems related to standard museum systems: from air quality to the control of microclimatic conditions to protect the works and ensure visitor comfort. New anti-intrusion and firefighting systems have also been installed.

It is only on entering the Palazzo, however, that the visitor will fully appreciate the restyling, which, along with a diversified, multidisciplinary cultural offer, make it a place for people of all tastes to enjoy at any time. Ours is a quality offer with wide appeal, founded on international collaboration and establishing a dialogue between Italian culture and that of the rest of the world.

The exhibition space, of 3,100sqm in all, covers two floors, LEVEL 1 and 2, making the display areas completely autonomous; a system of vertical wall panels provides a neutral and uniform background to the areas, which lend themselves to any type of exhibition. Visual comfort is further enhanced by the luminous panels with built-in spotlights, specially designed by architect Michele De Lucchi, which give unity to all the areas. In addition, suspended ceilings diffuse the natural light from the skylights and contain the lighting systems.

The brise soleil on the glass regulates the sunlight, preventing it from penetrating directly into the exhibition rooms. All the rooms are equipped with mobile glass panels to regulate the flow of visitors specifically for each exhibition.

CINEMA
With 139 seats and an independent entrance, the cinema is chiefly intended for films and documentaries related to the exhibitions in progress. In a spirit strongly influenced by the interdisciplinary nature of the events held at the Palazzo, the cinema aims to offer 360-degree treatment of a topic, exhibition, or cultural event. The autonomous management and opening times enable it to be used independently of the other activities at the Palazzo.

AUDITORIUM
The Auditorium can accommodate 90 people. Although it is designed specifically for theatrical activities, it is a multipurpose hall and can be used for theatre, conferences and debates. The space in the hall can be redesigned as required, allowing adaptation of the location to suit all needs.

FORUM
The Forum is a multipurpose space with conference rooms, a laboratory and a multimedia area. It makes art, technology and literature available to the public. The online network provides access to virtual documentation and to the global heritage of culture and art, while the books allow users to develop their own personal experience of watching, seeing and imagining in their own time. The Forum hosts the Scaffale (Bookcase), which offers educational services, laboratory exhibitions, conferences and encounters with the artists. The wealth of services offered makes this multimedia space an area for exchanges, encounters and continually developing knowledge.

Palazzo delle Esposizioni is fully accessible to visitors with disabilities.

Wheelchairs are available upon request for use by visitors.

Entrance: via Milano 13 and via Piacenza snc

The “Serra”, or conservatory, is an exciting new architectural feature of the building with striking impact; designed from scratch by architect Paolo Desideri, consists in the Open exclusive restaurant and a meeting area.

The acclaimed chef Antonello Colonna is responsible for giving the restaurant its particular style and creating the spirit of the place. Both areas are available for staging events, thus combining catering facilities with the magnificent Palazzo delle Esposizioni setting and the ongoing exhibitions.
The facility is arranged on two levels that are independent but connected with each other. The kitchens are fully equipped for high level catering, and cover an area of 200 square metres.

The first level has a usable area of 320 square metres, with an additional 80 square metres of open-air terrace entirely for the use of the restaurant.
The second level has a covered area of 170 square metres with an additional 110 square metres of open terrace solely for the use of the Terrazza-Bar.

Open Colonna Restaurant - Bar
everyday (excluded monday) from 10.30am to 2.00am
Restaurant from 12:00pm to 3:00pm and from 7.30pm to 12.00am
Bar from 11.00am to 2.00am

The large bookshop, designed by architect Firouz Galdo, occupies an area of about 450 square metres and consists in three large rooms: two devoted to books, catalogues, music CDs and DVDs – national and international mainly about art but also architecture and design, and particularly rich in subject matter connected with the Palazzo exhibitions; the third, connected to the other rooms, sells dedicated merchandising, closely following current trends. The bookshop has an independent entrance from Via Milano, at the corner of Via Nazionale, making it independent from the exhibition area.

The Bookàbar Bookshop follows Palazzo delle Esposizioni's opening hours
Indipendent entrance: via Milano 15/17

Palazzo delle Esposizioni
Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday: from 10:00am to 8:00pm
Friday and Saturday: from 10.00 to 22.30
closed on Monday
Last admission one hour before closing time

Bookshop and Café
follow Palazzo delle Esposizioni's opening hours

Open Colonna Restaurant - Bar
everyday (excluded monday) from 10.30am to 2.00am
Restaurant from 12:00pm to 3:00pm and from 7.30pm to 12.00am
Bar from 11.00am to 2.00am