The civic gallery lies in an ancient noble residence whose originary nucleus was commissioned by Costaguta family to Bartolomeo Bianco between 1626 and 1635. Palazzo Costaguta, then Grimaldi and after Pallavicini was bought at the beginning of 1900, by Giuseppe Rocca, who ordered, in 1908, the preparation of the park, planned by Polinice Caccia.

The Palace was born with the near Church of Saint Francesco, built thanks to the Costaguta patronage, who became nobles owing to the merits acquired in Chiavari: for the building  of the apse of Our Lady of Orto, the Cathedral of Chiavari.

The Pallavicini family dispersed lots of  pieces of furniture and paintings, that were put up to auction in 1899. The remaining possessions were subjected to various alienations by Ferrari sisters from Genoa. The actual furniture of the palace, that you could see visiting the ten rooms inside, reflects the taste of the last owner, Giuseppe Rocca, who bought it in 1903.

In 1912, Rocca bequeathed to The Commune of Chiavari the Palace and the Park.The first one, was changed into museum, that now contains lots of  properties of different periods and proveniences.The collections of paintings contains works made by the Genoese, Italian, Spanish, Dutch schools: The “Pietro Torriglia” collection includes works from XVI to XVII century; in addition to a series of prints, there are numerous valuable pieces of porcelain and ceramic. You can also admire numerous handmade articles created by famous city craftsmen.