What makes us unique?
Trafford Palazzo represents the next generation of Barton Square, an evolution of our unique retail and leisure destination, offering more diverse experiences and adventures for visitors of all ages over the next 30 years.
Already attracting five million visitors a year, Trafford Palazzo is home to an 84,356 sq ft flagship Primark store, homestyle retailers Homesense, Natuzzi and Silentnight plus leisure attractions Legoland Discovery Centre, SEA LIFE Manchester Aquarium and, arriving in summer 2023, Nerf AX, Archies and King Pins.
Second City Coffee's cheerful yellow van is on hand for that much needed coffee stop. Not to mention London's most instagrammable café, EL&N who are set to start serving up amazing all day cake, coffee and brunch in theatrical surroundings in Spring 2023.
The brand name reflects the Italian themed aesthetics and signals a new approach to align our company’s philosophy in making a social and economic impact on the communities and businesses which we operate at Trafford Palazzo.
The name ‘Palazzo’ reflects the building’s palatial surroundings and hints at the aspirational experiences on offer here and throughout the wider TraffordCity area over the coming years.
Peel L&P acquired Barton Square in May 2021 following its £75m revamp in 2018, gaining a glass-domed roof and more than 110,000 sq ft of extra leisure and retail space. Peel’s acquisition of Barton Square (now Trafford Palazzo) ushers in a transformational new phase for TraffordCity: already the UK’s foremost experiential and retail destination.
In the centre of Trafford Palazzo, you’ll find the impressive main dome, which replicates the centre’s Main Dome and is also in scale with the dome in St Paul’s Cathedral. Constructed from over 1,800 pieces of glass, it weighs over 250 tonnes.
As a tribute to the 22 people who lost their life in the Manchester Arena attack, 22 bees have been painted around the mural scenes.
A team of painters spent six months painting 33 detailed Roman murals around the dome; these are themed around spiritual ascension, as the murals begin with earthly pursuits at the bottom of the dome, rising to depictions of gods and goddesses at the very top of the dome.
Look just below the glass and you’ll find 16 paintings. These illustrate the earthly pursuits of Roman citizens as they go about their day to day lives; such as trading, hunting, bathing and winemaking. Just above these are six circular allegories of Roman mythology, including depictions of Mars & Venus, Fauna & Faunus and Daphne & Apollo.
In the middle and at the very top of the dome, you’ll see ten famous Gods and Goddesses, such as Apollo, Venus and Jupiter, as they govern and look down from above.
Many of Trafford Palazzo’s key features, including the columns, pilasters and the Grecian key cornices, are embellished with gold leaf.
A striking marbleising effect is used on columns around the building. Painters use a fine brush to create this realistic and eye-catching marble effect.
There are 43 bronze busts in place around the top level as well as 120 marble statues dotted throughout.
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