palace of the grand guard

The Palazzo della Gran Guardia is one of the most imposing and scenic buildings of Piazza Bra, with its long arcaded facade extending for over 60 metres on the west side of the square. Begun in 1610 to a design by the Veronese architect Domenico Curtoni, the palace represents a significant example of architecture of transition between Renaissance and Baroque, commissioned by the Republic of Venice as a venue for the military exercises of the city guard.

The palace's construction history is particularly troubled: begun in the seventeenth century, it remained unfinished for over two centuries and was completed only in 1853 following the original design. Today the Palazzo della Gran Guardia is one of the main exhibition spaces in Verona, hosting temporary exhibitions of international level, cultural events, conferences and demonstrations that make it a nerve centre of city cultural life.

Domenico Curtoni's design and seventeenth-century construction.

In 1609, the Republic of Venice decided to build in Verona a palace intended for the military exercises of the Gran Guardia, the elite corps that protected the city and its territory. The Serenissima wanted a monumental building that would bear witness to Venetian power and offer a covered space where soldiers could train even during the winter or in bad weather, a function previously carried out outdoors in Piazza Bra.

The commission was entrusted to the Veronese architect Domenico Curtoni (1559-1630), one of the most important designers of his time, who had already created significant works for the Venetian Republic. Curtoni designed a long, linear palace with a arcaded portico on the ground floor that created a covered space for exercises, and an upper floor intended for reception rooms and military offices.

The chosen style was that of the Venetian tradition, with Palladian influences evident in the proportions and rhythmic spacing of the openings.

Work began in 1610 and proceeded briskly in the early decades, with the construction of the portico and the first bays of the facade. However, financial difficulties of the Venetian Republic, engaged in costly wars against the Turks, progressively slowed the works. In 1630, the plague that severely struck the Veneto caused the definitive interruption of the construction site: Domenico Curtoni himself died of plague, and the works stopped with the palace unfinished for about half its planned length.

For over two centuries, from 1630 to 1800, the Palazzo della Gran Guardia remained unfinished: the part built in the seventeenth century was used for military purposes, but the building looked truncated, with the facade ending abruptly at half its current length. Numerous completion projects were proposed during the eighteenth century, but the continuous wars and political instability prevented the necessary funds from being raised.

With the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797 and the advent of Napoleonic rule, the palace passed into French and then Austrian hands, maintaining its military function but always remaining unfinished. Only in 1820, during Austrian rule, did the idea of completing the building seriously come into consideration again.

The Austro-Hungarian empire wished to provide Verona, one of the four fortresses of the Quadrilateral, with representative buildings worthy of its strategic role.

The completion works finally began in 1838 and continued until 1853, faithfully following Curtoni's original design preserved in the archives. The nineteenth-century architects Giuseppe Barbieri and Pietro Marchesini coordinated the works, seeking to maintain stylistic consistency with the existing seventeenth-century part. The result was a unified building despite the two centuries that separate the two construction phases, bearing witness to the quality of the original design and the skill of the nineteenth-century builders.

After completion in 1853, the Palazzo della Gran Guardia continued to perform military functions throughout the Austrian period. With the annexation of Verona to the Kingdom of Italy in 1866, the building passed to the Italian army which used it as a barracks and military warehouse. This use continued until the immediate post-war period, when the palace was gradually divested of military functions.

In the period between the two world wars, the palace began to host public events: exhibitions, trade fairs, political demonstrations of the Fascist regime.

During the Second World War, the building suffered damage from the Allied bombings that hit Piazza Bra in 1945. The post-war restorations repaired the damage and consolidated the structures, paving the way for the definitive transformation into a cultural space.

From the 1960s, the Palazzo della Gran Guardia progressively became one of the main exhibition spaces of the city. Today it hosts temporary exhibitions of ancient, modern and contemporary art that attract thousands of visitors from all over Italy and abroad.

The large halls on the noble floor, with their high ceilings and open spaces, are ideal for museum installations. The palace also hosts conferences, book presentations, cultural events and demonstrations that make it a nerve centre of Veronese cultural life.

Recent restorations have focused on the facade, which has been cleaned and consolidated, and on the interiors, where modern climate control and lighting systems have been installed to ensure optimal conservation of the works of art exhibited in the temporary shows.