Palazzo Santangelo
The Estate, Garden and the Parking Area of Centro Paolo VI
Palazzo Santangelo is a 17th-century palazzo complex in the historic heart of Brescia: columns, cloisters, frescoed staircases, music, air, a historic garden.
Formed by the union of two patrician palaces, it is cared for by a non-profit foundation and open to travelers.
A place of permanence for those seeking concentration, attention, and direct contact with the city’s living heritage.
Evolution of the times
Palazzo Santangelo was born from the union of two original patrician palaces: Palazzo Luzzago and Palazzo Maggi, each with its own entrance and its own history.
Over the centuries, the complex changes form. The Gambara family intervenes on the Maggi side, expands the structure, and builds the cloister around the garden.
Historic times to be crossed.
Palazzi Luzzago and Maggi: the origin
They form the first nucleus of the present complex.
In the portico, rusticated pillars support nine cross vaults.
In the cellars, double umbrella vaults preserve traces of graffiti dating back to the mid-16th century.
In the great Hall, recently uncovered frescoes bring the gaze back to the mid-16th century and the early years of the 17th century.
The Gambara: nature in the 18th century
The Gambara family purchased the palazzo from the Maggi around 1655. Count Scipione Gambara initiated the 18th-century reorganization of the complex, designed by architect Antonio Marchetti.
In the 18th century, architecture changes. The facade, the windows, the Monumental Staircase, the portals, and the round stone arch tell of a new relationship between representation and garden.
The two Doric columns of the Staircase support the long architrave and invite you to ascend.
The arch, supported by banded pilasters, ends in scroll-shaped brackets on which two finely carved amphorae rise.
With the cloister and the garden, nature enters the Palazzo as measure, in the spirit of the times.
Palazzo Santangelo: the present, cared for
In 1854, Mons. Gerolamo Verzieri, Bishop of Brescia, purchased the entire complex from the Grifoni Santangelo family and continued the work of arranging the Palazzo.
In 1930, the church was decorated with marble and frescoes by the Brescian painter Vittorio Trainini. Inside, it now houses an altarpiece by Moretto, The Trinity Crowning the Virgin, with Saints Peter and Paul and the Allegories of Justice and Peace.
In the early 1970s, by the will of Bishop Mons. Luigi Morstabilini, Palazzo Santangelo was designated as a Pastoral Center and named after Pope Paul VI, a native of Brescia. The Palazzo thus entered the present of the diocesan Church, as a living space in which to translate the spirit and directions of the Second Vatican Council.
The care continues.
A different urban temperature
The green threshold of Palazzo Santangelo: shade, paths, cedars, olive trees, and quiet in the center of Brescia.
During the day, it lowers the noise of the urban. In the evening, the place changes frequency. The Garden does not erase the city: it allows you to return to it differently.
The Garden
By day, the Garden offers shade and pause.
In the evening hours, the lighting changes the perception of the place: the historic center seems to breathe more slowly.
Across its 1,600 square meters, different species coexist: the Atlas Cedar, a species protected by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Himalayan Cedars, an imposing Yew, a native witness of the mountainous areas of Brescia, Chinese palms, and a century-old olive tree.
Around the central flowerbeds grow oleanders, hollies, clumps of Japanese lilyturf with red berries, and Japanese barberry.
From October to January, the small flowers of winter sweet release their fragrance into the air.
The Garden is crossed with all the senses.
Comfort and security
The parking area
Guests of Centro Paolo VI can use a guarded parking area inside the complex, in the historic center of Brescia.
From check-in to check-out, the car remains in a guarded space, accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The entrances are located at Via Callegari 4 and 4/bis. There are 250 parking spaces available.
The Restaurant
Restaurant-in-Art
Contemporary travelers no longer look for half board.
They seek the freedom to choose, à la carte, how the restaurant becomes part of their stay.
What to see in Brescia
Brescia is a city to be crossed.
From its UNESCO sites to the Castle, all the way to its less obvious detours, the city continues the work begun at Palazzo Santangelo: bringing attention back to time, history, and urban space.
Our Rooms
Centro Paolo VI offers rooms and apartments at Palazzo Santangelo, in Brescia’s historic center. Views over the city or the historic garden. Essential spaces within a wider experience: from the Palazzo to Brescia.
