Sights in Genoa
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Museo delle Culture del Mondo
Castello D’Albertis houses the eclectic Museo delle Culture del Mondo. The neo-Gothic edifice was built in 1892 on the ruins of a much older castle for the globetrotting Capitano Enrico D’Albertis, who hauled back all manner of ‘curiosities’ from his extensive sea voyages. Where else could you find a stuffed platypus, a fragment of the Great Wall of China and a handful of sand from San Salvador (Columbus’ first disembarkation point) in the same cabinet? If you don’t fancy the climb up to Corso Dogali, there’s a lift from Via Balbi (€0.70) to the castle gates.
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Cattedrale di San Lorenzo
With its black-and-white-striped Gothic marble facade making it look a bit like a giant humbug, Genoa's Cattedrale di San Lorenzo is fronted by twisting columns and crouching lions. Consecrated in 1118, its two bell towers and cupola were added in the 16th century.
Inside the cathedral, above the central doorway, there's a great lunette with a painting of the Last Judgment, the work of an anonymous Byzantine painter of the early 14th century. Look out for the unexploded British bomb, which luckily failed to detonate when it hit the cathedral in 1941.
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Palazzo Lomellino
The most elaborate facade belongs to the 1563 Palazzo Lomellino. The grey blue exterior is festooned with stucco adornments, while the internal courtyard is dominated by an 18th-century nymphaeum (monument to the nymphs). Upstairs, the remarkably preserved 17th-century frescoes by Bernardo Strozzi were only uncovered in 2002, after languishing for almost 300 years above a false ceiling. They depict allegories of the New World, in homage to the palace’s one-time owners, the Centurione family, who financed Columbus’ voyages.
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Palazzo Doria-Tursi
Tickets must be purchased at the bookshop inside Palazzo Doria-Tursi. The palace’s Sala Paganiniana has a small but absorbing collection of legendary violinist Niccolò Paganini’s personal effects. Pride of place goes to his ‘Canone’ violin, made in Cremona in 1743. One lucky musician gets to play the maestro’s violin during October’s Paganiniana festival. Other artefacts on show include letters, musical scores and his travelling chess set. The palace has housed Genoa’s town hall since 1848.
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Palazzo Ducale
On the Piazza De Ferrari is the Palazzo Ducale, accessed via Piazza Giacomo Matteotti. Once the seat of Genoa’s rulers, it hosts a few small specialist museums and archives, including the Museo del Jazz, with a collection of original recordings. High-profile temporary art exhibitions are held in the palazzo, which also has a bookshop, cafe and restaurants.
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Cathedral
A stunner even by Italian standards, Genoa’s black-and-white-striped cathedral owes its continued existence to the poor quality of a British WWII bomb that failed to ignite here in 1941. Fronted by twisting columns and crouching lions, it was first consecrated in 1118. The two bell towers and cupola were added in the 16th century.
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Biosfera
Two of Renzo Piano’s most distinctive new additions to the port are the Biosfera, a giant glass ball housing a humid mini-ecosystem with tropical plants, butterflies and birds; and a panoramic lift, Il Bigo, which hoists a cylindrical viewing cabin 200m into the air. The lift has access for disabled visitors.
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Acquario
Jutting out over the water, Genoa’s bright blue Acquario has more than 5000 sea creatures, including sharks, swimming in six million litres of water. The adjoining floating barge takes visitors on a voyage through the Age of Discovery and into a Madagascan rainforest. The aquarium has disabled access.
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Museo del Tesoro
The Museo del Tesoro preserves various dubious holy relics, including the medieval Sacro Catino, a glass vessel once thought to be the Holy Grail. Other artefacts include the polished quartz platter upon which Salome is said to have received John the Baptist’s head, and a fragment of the True Cross.
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Palazzo Rosso
Lavishly frescoed rooms in Palazzo Rosso are the backdrop for several portraits by Van Dyck of the local Brignole-Sale family. Other standouts include Guido Reni’s San Sebastiano and Guercino’s La morte di Cleopatra, as well as works by Veronese, Dürer and Bernardo Strozzi.
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Palazzo del Principe
The beautiful Palazzo del Principe was once the home of the 16th-century admiral Andrea Doria. The sumptuous Renaissance interiors, with frescoes, tapestries, furniture and paintings, have been painstakingly restored, and the formal gardens provide a calm respite from the frenetic city.
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Palazzo Bianco
Flemish, Spanish and Italian artists feature at Palazzo Bianco. Rubens’ Venere e Marte and Van Dyck’s Vertumna e Pomona are among the highlights, which also include works by Hans Memling, Filippino Lippi and Murillo, as well as 15th-century religious icons.
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Museo d’Arte Orientale
Just east of Via Garibaldi, a path from Piazza Corvetto twists through terraced gardens to the Museo d’Arte Orientale. With some 20, 000 items, including porcelain, bronzes, costumes and musical instruments, this museum brings together one of Europe’s largest collections of Japanese art.
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Piazza de Ferrari
A splashing fountain is the centrepiece of Genoa's main square, the Piazza de Ferrari. It's ringed by magnificent buildings, including the Art Nouveau Palazzo della Borsa (closed to the public), which was once the country's stock exchange; and the neoclassical Teatro Carlo Felice .
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Galleria Nazionale
Galleria Nazionale, a 16th-century mansion,was owned by the Spinolas, one of the Republic’s most formidable dynasties. Their ancestral home displays Italian and Flemish Renaissance art, but is also worth visiting to gape at the awesome architecture.
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Galata Museo del Mare
The best place to gain an appreciation for Genoa’s relationship with the sea is the excellent Galata Museo del Mare, which traces the history of seafaring from earliest times through the ages of sail and steam to the present via high-tech exhibits.
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Porto Antico
Since its recent face-lift, Genoa's historic port gets packed with locals and visitors enjoying a passeggiata (stroll). The port's information booth has details about all of the old port's attractions and events, including various activities here for kids.
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Palazzo San Giorgio
Marco Polo was once an inmate of the frescoed Palazzo San Giorgio. Built in 1260, it became a prison in 1298; Polo worked on Il Milione here. These days it hosts occasional exhibitions; the city centre info kiosk has information.
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Chiesa del Gesù
The highlight of the Chiesa del Gesù, built in 1597 on the foundations of a medieval church, are two works by Rubens. Circoncisione hangs over the main altar, and Miracoli di San Ignazio is displayed in a side chapel.
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Museo del Jazz
The Museo del Jazz, which has a collection of original recordings. High-profile temporary art exhibitions are held in the palazzo, which also has a bookshop, café and restaurants.
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Stazione Genova
Spectacular views of Genoa's forts can be seen from the 1929 narrow-gauge railway, which snakes from the Stazione Genova 25km north to the village of Casella in the Scrivia Valley.
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Musei di Strada Nuova
Three of Via Garibaldi's grand palaces, Rosso, Bianco and Doria-Tursi, comprise the Musei di Strada Nuova. Between them, they hold the city's finest collection of Old Masters.
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Il Bigo
A panoramic lift, Il Bigo, hoists a cylindrical viewing cabin 200m into the air. The lift, designed by Renzo Piano, has disabled access.
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Palazzo Reale
Terraced gardens surround Palazzo Reale, which has a fine collection of Renaissance works.
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