Palazzo Vistarino

Palazzo Bellisomi-Vistarino is an eighteenth-century noble residence overlooking the Ticino River, in the heart of Pavia. A true “villa of delights,” it features frescoed rooms, spaces for music, reading and conversation, as well as a park, belvedere, chapel and stables.

The construction of the palace was commissioned by Gaetano Annibale Bellisomi, a Pavia aristocrat, who around the mid-eighteenth century entrusted the project to the Milanese architect Francesco Croce. Reflecting his wide-ranging interests, Bellisomi wanted the residence to include a library, an antiquarian and scientific museum, and a wunderkammer with natural history collections.

The palace covers an area of 5,600 square metres. It is among the most important examples of Lombard barocchetto and, thanks to the view from the belvedere and the surrounding park, offers a harmonious dialogue between the city and the river.

In the nineteenth century, the building was acquired by the Counts of Vistarino, who carried out significant renovations, creating the layering of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century styles that is one of the palace’s distinctive features.

Brought back to life in 2013, after a restoration that began in 2007, the palace is now home to the Alma Mater Ticinensis University Foundation, which organises advanced training courses, conferences, seminars and concerts.

Palazzo Vistarino offers evocative and functional spaces: frescoed rooms of great historical and artistic charm, equipped with state-of-the-art technologies and services. They are ideal for conferences, conventions, seminars and academic meetings, including residential events.

Palazzo Vistarino features three conference rooms (capacity from 50 to 70 seats), three meeting and training rooms (capacity up to 20 seats), common areas, a grand hall and a terrace overlooking the park.

Throughout the year, Palazzo Bellisomi-Vistarino opens to the public on selected weekends, offering guided tours and events: surprising historical and artistic itineraries to discover the eighteenth-century “villa of delights” overlooking the Ticino, recently restored.

Guided tours, talks and concerts allow visitors to discover the rooms restored to their former splendour, the stucco decorations, the courtyards and the architecture that earned it the definition of a “palace fit for princes.”

For information: fondazione@unipv.it and segreteriafamt@unipv.it