One of the city's most prestigious palaces, just a few steps from the historical centre, its large and elegant spaces will allow it to host numerous conferences and workshops at the same time and to set up an even larger and richer exhibition space than in past editions.

The History

Located in Via Gemona, 'il Toppo' links its name to some important families in the history of Udine.

It was built in 1705 by Count Marzio Polcenigo as a noble residence for himself and his wife Tranquilla Guliola and was then sold in 1790 to the family of Count Giuseppe Garzolini, whose name it still bears.

The palace then became the seat of the Collegio di Toppo-Wassermann in 1900, when, thanks to a bequest from Count Francesco di Toppo, the Municipality and the Province of Udine were able to purchase the building and turn it into a boys' boarding school for children and young people.

Except for a brief interlude of a few years, when during the Great War the building was entrusted to the Red Cross to become a hospital, for almost the entire twentieth century the College represented a true institution for the city and the entire Region and became an indissoluble part of the very identity of the Palace.

After long and difficult renovation and recovery works, this identity of hospitality and commitment to education is perpetuated today thanks to the Scuola Superiore, the institute of excellence of the University of Udine, which is located in the Palace.

Today, thanks to the Scuola Superiore and the periodic concession of spaces for exhibitions, conferences and shows, "il Toppo" represents for the University and for the city a pole of excellence and a point of reference in the dissemination of culture.

Art

Built in the early eighteenth century, the Palazzo reflects in its façade and interiors those stylistic features that are typical of noble palaces built in Udine according to the dictates of Venetian architecture.

Externally, the long, clean, elegant and sober façade is widened by a central arched doorway, framed by wide pilasters and surmounted by a balcony and a large window that gives light to the main floor hall.

Internally, the structure is characterised by the typical large entrance hall, a monumental frescoed staircase leading to the main floor and the luminous velarium, created at the beginning of the last century by architect Provino Valle with an iron and glass covering.

The decorations and frescoes on the piano nobile, created in the early 19th century and attributed mainly to the Udine painter Domenico Paghini, reflect the typical taste of the city's nobility of the time and take up the themes of antiquity and classicism, alternating with the depiction of fantasy landscapes and family coats of arms.

Worthy of note is the dome above the staircase, scenographically decorated with the perspective play of a mock loggia and surrounded by the coats of arms of the most important noble families of Udine.