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Best attractions in Genoa
Located in the Porto Antico area, the aquarium is a must-see in Genoa. With over 12,000 animals across 600 species, the aquarium showcases a spectacular array of marine life. You can marvel at sharks, turtles, penguins, and rare species like manatees in habitats that closely resemble their natural homes.
When visiting Genoa, be sure to explore the Strade Nuove and their Palazzi dei Rolli. These stunning Renaissance and Baroque palaces, once homes for nobles and state guests, showcase the immense wealth and power of the Genoese aristocracy.
Piazza De Ferrari is the main square of Genoa. Situated in the heart of the city between the historical and the modern center, Piazza De Ferrari is renowned for its fountain, which was restored in recent years along with a major restyling of the square. Today next to Piazza De Ferrari are numerous office buildings, headquarters of banks, insurances and other private companies, making of this district the financial and business centre of Genoa, so that the Genoese popularly refer to it as the City of Genoa. At the end of the 19th century Genoa was the main financial centre of Italy along with Milan, and Piazza De Ferrari was the place where many institutions were established, like the stock exchange, the Credito Italiano, the branch offices of the Bank of Italy, founded in 1893.
Genoa Cathedral or Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Lawrence is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the Italian city of Genoa. It is dedicated to Saint Lawrence, and is the seat of the Archbishop of Genoa. The cathedral was consecrated by Pope Gelasius II in 1118 and was built between the twelfth century and the fourteenth century as fundamentally a medieval building, with some later additions. Secondary naves and side covers are of Romanesque style and the main facade is Gothic from the early thirteenth century, while capitals and columns with interior corridors date from the early fourteenth century. The bell tower and dome were built in the sixteenth century.
The Doge's Palace is a historical building in Genoa, northern Italy. Once the home of the Doges of Genoa, it is now a museum and a centre for cultural events and arts exhibitions. It is situated in the heart of the city, with two different entrances and façades, the main one on Piazza Giacomo Matteotti, and the second one on Piazza De Ferrari.
The Galata - Museo del mare is a maritime museum in the Italian city of Genoa. It is the largest museum of its kind in the Mediterranean area and also one of the most modern in Italy. The museum is located on the grounds of the Porto Antico, in the Palazzo Galata in the Darsena district, where galleys were built in the Republic of Genoa era. It is close to downtown Genoa, the Port of Genoa, and within walking distance of Genova Principe train station and Darsena metro stop. It opened in 2004 as part of Genoa's 2004 European Capital of Culture celebration.
The Teatro Carlo Felice is the principal opera house of Genoa, Italy, used for performances of opera, ballet, orchestral music, and recitals. It is located on the side of Piazza De Ferrari.
The Basilica della Santissima Annunziata del Vastato is the Catholic cathedral of Genoa, northern Italy; its decoration employed the major baroque studios and artists in Genoa in the 17th century. It is named Vastato because the area where it was built was outside the walls of the city, in an area where houses had been demolished for defensive reasons. In Latin, vastinium referred to a safety belt within the protective bastions.
The Palazzo Reale or Palazzo Stefano Balbi is a major palace in Genoa.
D'Albertis Castle is a historical residence in Genoa, north-western Italy. It was the home of sea captain Enrico Alberto d'Albertis and was donated to the city of Genoa on his death in 1932. It currently houses the Museo delle Culture del Mondo, inaugurated in 2004.
The Musei di Strada Nuova in the Italian city of Genoa comprise three museums which together form a single complex, housed in the Palazzo Rosso, the Palazzo Bianco and the Palazzo Tursi, all of which are located along the Via Garibaldi. The Palazzo Tursi is also Genoa's city hall. The unified collection was founded in 2004 with the decision to create a single visitor route linking all three palaces, all with a single owner. Palazzo Rosso and Palazzo Bianco had already been independent museums since 1874 and 1892 respectively, whilst parts of Palazzo Tursi had been given over to cultural uses since 2004. The route begins with 15th–20th century paintings in the Palazzo Rosso, followed by art produced in Genoa and Liguria by Spanish, Flemish and Italian artists from the 15th century onwards in the Palazzo Bianco, and concludes in the Palazzo Tursi with Antonio Canova's Penitent Magdalene and the ceramic, numismatic and Paganini collections.
The Palazzo Brignole Sale or Palazzo Rosso is a house museum located in Via Garibaldi, in the historical center of Genoa, in Northwestern Italy. The palace is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli. The rich art collection inside, along with the galleries of Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo Doria Tursi, is part of the Musei di Strada Nuova and consists of the works of artists of the caliber of Antoon van Dyck, Guido Reni, Paolo Veronese, Guercino, Gregorio De Ferrari, Albrecht Dürer, Bernardo Strozzi and Mattia Preti.
The Lighthouse of Genoa, known as La Lanterna, is the main lighthouse serving the Port of Genoa. Besides being an important aid to night navigation in the vicinity, the tower serves as a symbol and a landmark for the city of Genoa. Rebuilt in its current shape in 1543 replacing the former lighthouse, it is the world's third oldest lighthouse, following the Tower of Hercules in A Coruña, Spain, and Kõpu Lighthouse, on the island of Hiiumaa, Estonia. Built of masonry, at, it is constructed in two square portions, each one capped by a terrace. The whole structure is crowned by a lantern from which the light is shone. Between 1543 and the construction of the lighthouse on Île Vierge, France in 1902, it was the tallest lighthouse in the world. It is now the world's fifth tallest lighthouse, the second tallest lighthouse built in traditional masonry after Île Vierge and the tallest lighthouse of the Mediterranean Sea. When measured as a whole with the natural rock on which it stands, as it is commonly perceived and represented, its total height is, which makes it the second tallest lighthouse in the world, the tallest in Europe, and the tallest in the world when only traditional lighthouses are considered.
The Neptune is a ship replica of a 17th-century Spanish galleon designed by Naval Architect David Cannell. The ship was built in 1985 for Roman Polanski's film Pirates, where she portrayed the Spanish ship of the same name. An accurate replica above the waterline, but sporting a partly steel hull, planked in timber and two main engines with Schottel drive, the Neptune is currently a tourist attraction in the port of Genoa, where its interior can be visited for a 9 euro entry fee. In 2011, she portrayed the Jolly Roger, the ship of Captain Hook, in the TV miniseries Neverland.
The palazzo Doria-Tursi or palazzo Niccolò Grimaldi is a building on Via Giuseppe Garibaldi in the historic town centre of Genoa. With Palazzo Rosso and Palazzo Bianco it houses the Strada Nuova Museums and on 13 July 2006 all three palaces and the streets around them became the Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli World Heritage Site. Since 1848 Palazzo Doria-Tursi has also housed the city hall of Genoa.
San Siro is a Roman Catholic basilica located on the street of the same name, in the quartiere of the Maddalena in central Genoa, Liguria, Italy.
The Palazzo San Giorgio or Palace of St. George is a palace in Genoa, Italy. It is situated in the Piazza Caricamento. The palace was built in 1260 by Guglielmo Boccanegra, uncle of Simone Boccanegra, the first Doge of Genoa. For the construction of the new palace, materials were used from the demolition of the Venetian embassy in Constantinople, having been obtained from Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII as a reward for Genoese aid against the Latin Empire. Stone lions – the emblem of Venice's patron St Mark – were displayed as trophies on the facade by her bitter rival, the Republic of Genoa. The palace was intended — through the creation of a civil-political center — to separate and elevate the temporal power of the Republic's government from the religious power of the clergy, centered on the Cathedral of San Lorenzo. In 1262, Guglielmo Boccanegra was deposed and forced into exile. The palace was used for a time as a prison; Marco Polo was its most famous resident and it was there that he dictated his memoirs to Rustichello of Pisa. In the 15th century, the palace became home to the Bank of Saint George.
Santa Maria di Castello is a church and religious complex in Genoa, Italy. Administrated for a long time by the Dominicans, it is located in the Castello hill of the city, where in the Middle Ages a bishop's fortified castle existed. The church is flanked by the large Tower of the Embriaci. The church, in Romanesque style, was erected before 900 AD. It houses many artworks commissioned by the main noble families of Genoa, by artists such as Francesco Maria Schiaffino, Lorenzo Fasolo, Alessandro Gherardini, Giuseppe Palmieri, Francesco Boccaccino, Pier Francesco Sacchi, Bernardo Castello, Aurelio Lomi and Tommaso Orsolino. Notable are the frescoes with Stories of David and the painted majolicas from the 16th century Genoese school. The high altar is decorated by a marble group of the Assumption by Domenico Parodi, while the chapel to the left of the presbytery has a Santa Rosa da Lima by Domenico Piola and a marble cover by Taddeo Carlone. The fourth chapel in the left aisle has a Madonna del Rosario by the workshop of Anton Maria Maragliano, while the first chapel has a painting attributed to Giovanni Battista Paggi. The baptistery has a polyptych from Lombard masters of the 15th century. The main portal is in Tuscan style, and is surmounted by a Gothic lunette of the 14th century with a Crucifixion.
Palazzo Bianco is one of the main buildings of the center of Genoa, Italy. It is situated at 11, via Garibaldi . It contains the Gallery of the White Palace, one of the larger city art galleries, and together with those of its neighbors Palazzo Rosso and Palazzo Doria Tursi, it forms part of the Strada Nuova Museums, a cluster of museums at that end of the street.
The Villa del Principe, Palazzo del Principe, or Palace of Andrea Doria in Fassolo is one of the main historical suburban villas of Genoa, Italy. It was built in the 16th century in an area that it is now located in the city center, but at the time of the construction of the villa was just outside of the city walls towards Capo di Faro and the Lanterna. The villa was intended as the private residence of the Genoese admiral Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi, who often hosted emperors, kings and other foreign authorities. The villa was nonetheless never officially listed as a Palazzo dei Rolli of the Republic of Genova as it was a suburban villa and not an urban palace. From his residence, Andrea Doria was able to exert a strong political influence on the city, while staying away from the Doge's Palace and the often-treacherous political life of the Republic. The villa is considered one of the masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance. The interior, recently restored, is decorated with frescoes, stuccoes, tapestries and historical wooden furniture. Particularly noteworthy are Perino del Vaga's frescoes in the Salone dei Giganti and in the Loggia degli Eroi, and the Flemish tapestries portraying the Battle of Lepanto.
The Arco della Vittoria, also known as Monumento ai Caduti or Arco dei Caduti, is a memorial arch located in in Genoa, Italy. It is dedicated to the Genoese who died during World War I, and it was inaugurated on 31 May 1931.
Santa Maria delle Vigne is a Roman Catholic basilica church in Genoa, Italy. It was built in the 10th century. The main altar was completed in 1730 by Giacomo Antonio Ponsonelli. The church is also the final resting place of the leading early Italian composer Alessandro Stradella, who was murdered in 1682.
The Mackenzie Castle is a historical manor in the Castelletto quarter of Genoa, northern Italy. It is an example of Gothic Revival architecture. Registered as a cultural space on the occasion of Genoa European Capital of Culture 2004, in autumn 2006 it was one of the venues of the Festival della Scienza.
The Christopher Columbus House in Genoa, Italy, is an 18th-century reconstruction of the house in which Christopher Columbus grew up.
The walls of Genoa constitute in their whole the several circles of walls that protected and defended the city of Genoa, former capital of the homonymous republic. To this day, large portions of these walls remain, and Genoa has more and longer walls than any other city in Italy.
Genoa Airport also named Christopher Columbus Airport , and commonly named Aeroporto di Genova-Sestri Ponente, after the city district where it is located, is an international airport built on an artificial peninsula, west of Genoa, Italy.
The Edoardo Chiossone Museum of Oriental Art in Genoa, Italy is an important collection of Asian art, one of the most significant collections in Europe and in Italy, along with the museums of Venice and Rome. The museum hosts the huge collection of Edoardo Chiossone, who spent 23 years in Japan. The exhibition shows many objects and artworks from Japan and China, like sculptures, porcelain pieces, bronze vessels, prints, masks, Samurai armors and helmets. It is situated inside Villetta Di Negro, a public park in the centre of Genoa, next to Piazza Corvetto and overlooking the historical centre and Via Garibaldi.
Santa Maria Assunta is a Renaissance church in Genoa, Italy. It is located in a residential sector called Carignano located on the hills just above the city center, thus the church is also known as Santa Maria Assunta di Carignano.
San Matteo is a Roman Catholic church in Genoa, in the region of Liguria, Italy.
Santo Stefano is a church in Genoa, northern Italy. Located on a hill overlooking the central Via XX Settembre, it is one of the most outstanding examples of Romanesque architecture in the city. The church had been closed for much of the 20th century, until the restoration of the year 1946-1955, when it was reconsecrated.
San Donato is a church in Genoa, Northern Italy. The interior contains a Madonna by the 14th-century painter Nicolò da Voltri; a St Joseph It dates from the 12th century and is in Romanesque style. It became a parish under archbishop Siro il Porcello, and was consecrated on May 1, 1189. After the bombardment of 1684 it was restored several times, being again consecrated on December 4, 1892. Other restorations in 1946-1951 have kept its Romanesque appearance.
The Palazzo Angelo Giovanni Spinola is a palace located in Via Garibaldi, in the historical center of Genoa, in Northwestern Italy. It was one of the 163 Palazzi dei Rolli of Genoa, the selected private residences where the notable guests of the Republic of Genoa were hosted during State visits. On 13 luglio del 2006 it was included in the list of 42 palaces which now form the UNESCO World Heritage Site Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli. Now owned by a bank, it is possible to visit the areas open to the public.
Nazario Sauro was the lead boat of the Sauro-class submarines of the Italian Navy.
Forte Sperone is a fortification included in the New Walls built to defend the Italian city of Genoa, located on top of Mount Peralto. The union of two walls, one on the side of Val Polcevera and the other on the side of Val Bisagno, gives the fort the appearance of the bow of a ship, from which its name derives. Due to its dominant position, it was one of the most important structures of the fortifications of Genoa.
Church of Saint Peter in Banchi is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Genoa, in the Province of Genoa and the region of Liguria, Italy.
The Palazzo Spinola di Pellicceria, also known as Palazzo Francesco Grimaldi, is a palace located in piazza di Pellicceria in the historical center of Genoa, Northwestern Italy. The palace was one of the 163 Palazzi dei Rolli of Genoa, the selected private residences where the notable guests of the Republic of Genoa were hosted during State visits. On 13 luglio del 2006 it was added to the list of 42 palaces which now form the UNESCO World Heritage Site Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli. It is currently owned by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism and houses the National Gallery of Art in Palazzo Spinola.
The Palazzo della Nuova Borsa Valori is a historical building in Genoa, located in Piazza De Ferrari, also known as the Palazzo della Borsa. Built by engineers Dario Carbone and Amedeo Pieragostini, its architecture recalls the Neo-16th century style, while the interiors, by Adolfo Coppedè, are inspired by the Liberty style. The architecture and decorations were intended to highlight the financial power that the Genoese market, due to its high volume of business, expressed at the beginning of the 20th century, when it was the first Italian stock exchange.
The Palazzo Doria-Spinola or Palazzo Antonio Doria is a palace located in largo Eros Lanfranco in the historical center of Genoa, Northwestern Italy. The palace was one of the 163 Palazzi dei Rolli of Genoa, one of those selected private residences where notable guests of the Republic of Genoa were hosted during State visits. On 13 luglio del 2006 it was added to the list of 42 palaces which now form the UNESCO World Heritage Site Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli. The palace now hosts the Prefecture of Genoa and the seat of the Province of Genoa. It is possible to visit the areas of the building which are open to the public.
San Siro di Struppa is a Roman Catholic, Romanesque-style church in Struppa, a neighborhood of Genoa, region of Liguria, Italy.
The church of the Madonna della Consolazione e San Vicenzo Martire, also called Chiesa di Nostra Signora della Consolazione is a church in Genoa, Italy. A church of ‘’Our Lady of the Consolation’’ under the care of Augustinian Fathers was known near this site since the 15th century. At the time, it stood in the perilous neighborhoods outside the city walls. Construction of new defensive walls after the bombardment in 1684, forced the Augustinian monks to relocate, and they were authorized to build at the present site. Construction ran from 1684 till 1706. The dome was added in 1769 based on designs by Simone Cantoni. The adjacent monastery, never completed, became in the 19th century the site of a marketplace called the Mercato Orientale. In 1810, under Napoleonic rule, the Augustinians were dispossessed of the church, and by 1813, it became a parish church. The interior frescoes date to after 1875. Inside the first altar to the right has a canvas depicting St Thomas of Villanova distributing his wealth to the poor by Domenico Fiasella. The virgin statue on the façade was moved here from the prior church. The organ was built by Giacomo Locatelli in 1880 and restored in 1975. The church often holds funerals of important people, including that of famed Italian pianist Massimiliano Damerini.
The Torre Embriaci, also called Torre degli Embriaci, located in the oldest area of Genoa, where the Castello o Castrum stood. It is the only one of the numerous towers that were located in the current historic center of Genoa to have been spared by the edict of 1196 which wanted to cut all the city towers to 80 palms.
The Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria is a natural history museum in Genoa, northern Italy. It is named after the naturalist Giacomo Doria, who was the founder and the curator for over forty years. The museum was founded in 1867 and contains over four million specimens from all over the world. It contains zoological, botanical and geological collections. Important collections include those of Luigi D'Albertis, Leonardo Fea, Arturo Issel, Orazio Antinori, Odoardo Beccari and Lamberto Loria. Since 1922, it is the headquarters of the Società entomologica italiana.
The Loggia della Mercanzia is one of the most representative buildings in the historical centre of Genoa. It is located in Piazza Banchi, at the corner with Via San Luca, in the ancient sestiere of the Maddalena, not far from the church of San Pietro in Banchi, in the commercial heart of the ancient city.
The Church of Saint Anne, with the adjacent convent and pharmacy of the Discalced Carmelites, is a Roman Catholic church located in the residential quarter of Castelletto in Genoa, Liguria, north-western Italy. The village - now surrounded by the city - is still intact, with its leafy trees, cobbled walkways and open views from Salita Bachernia over the Gulf of Genoa, the harbor and the Old City.
The church of Santi Cosma e Damiano is located in central Genoa, Italy Located at the site of an ancient oratory, it is dedicated to the martyrs St. Cosma and Damian. The skull and tibia of the latter are presumably among the relics in the church. They were the patron saints of barbers and doctors. The first documents about the church date to 1049. In 1684, the church roof was damaged by the naval bombardment of the city. It was also damaged during the bombing of Genoa in World War II. It contains a painting of Esther and Assuerus by Bernardo Castello and a Madonna and child with St Cosma and Damian by Gioacchino Assereto.
Villa Gruber De Mari was built by the noble Genoese family De Mari in the second half of the 16th century in the suburban area between the Sant'Anna and San Rocchino walkways linking the center of the city to the New Walls, in the Castelletto neighborhood of Genoa, Italy. The villa includes a 16th-century guard tower and the 17th-century former private chapel, now the Abbatial Church of Santa Maria della Sanità. The villa is located in a panoramic position within a large park, which has been opened to the public after the villa was acquired by the Municipality of Genoa in the 20th century.
San Bartolomeo degli Armeni is an Armenian Catholic church in the quarter of Castelletto in Genoa, northern Italy. The church was founded in 1308 by a group of monks who were fleeing the Turkish invasion of southern Armenia. Of the original edifice, the apse, the dome and the left chapel remain; the right chapel was destroyed in 1883. The church houses the Holy Face of Edessa, a line relic with a tempera painting of the face of Jesus, which the Genoese doge Leonardo Montaldo received from the Byzantine emperor, and which he donated to the Basilians. The church houses artworks by Giovanni Battista Paggi, Orazio de Ferrari, Giulio Benso, Lazzaro Tavarone, Giacomo Boni, Luca Cambiasi, Anton Maria Maragliano and others.
Palazzo Durazzo-Pallavicini or Palazzo di Gio Agostino Balbi is a building on Via Balbi in the historic city centre of Genoa. On 13 July 2006 it became one of 42 palazzi included in the new Palazzi dei Rolli World Heritage Site.
The palazzo Podestà or Nicolosio Lomellino is a building located in via Garibaldi at number 7 in the historical centre of Genoa, included on 13 July 2006 in the list of the 42 palaces inscribed in the Rolli di Genova that became World Heritage by UNESCO on that date.
Sant'Agostino is a church in the historical center of Genoa, northern Italy. It is today deconsecrated, sometimes used for representations of the nearby Teatro della Tosse theatre company.
The Palazzo Doria or Palazzo Andrea e Gio. Batta Spinola is a palace located in Via Garibaldi, in the historical center of Genoa, in Northwestern Italy. It was one of the 163 Palazzi dei Rolli of Genoa, the selected private residences where the notable guests of the Republic of Genoa were hosted during State visits. On 13 luglio del 2006 it was included in the list of 42 palaces which now form the UNESCO World Heritage Site Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli. The palace is the property of the Doria family and has a residential use. Only the exterior and limited internal areas are open to the public.