The Royal Palace of Tripoli is considered one of the largest and most beautiful palaces in Libya. It was built during the rule of Italo Balbo in the 1930s. It was officially known as the “Palazzo del Governatore”.
It was used as the seat of the Italian Governor General, and during the British Mandate period, it became the seat of the English Governor, then the seat of King Idris Al-Senussi during the period from 1951 to 1964.
It is located in the Dahra neighborhood on a high hill, which is considered one of the highest places in Tripoli, and through its balconies you can see most of the buildings, including the old city and the seashore.
Its design blending the local and Roman style and harmonizing with the icon of Tripoli, the Red Castle. Its interior walls are decorated with motifs, murals, and beautiful paintings by famous Italian artists and sculptors.
After the September 1969 coup, the palace suffered from neglect and negligence, and most of its contents, including furniture and artistic paintings, were lost. The roots and decorations were deformed, and some of them were scratched and cracked.
It was affected by some damage following the US raid on Libya in 1986, and it was converted into a museum and called the ‘Libya Museum’.
In recent decades, after regular maintenance rather than specialized technical one, it was converted into a public library known as the ‘National Library’.