The austerity of this black-and-white-striped 12th-century structure is enlivened ever so slightly by the fanciful French Gothic carvings around the portal and the presence of two stone lions. A later addition is the campanile, completed in the 16th century and containing at one corner a beloved Genoa artifact—a sundial known as L’Arrotino (the knife grinder) for its utilitarian appearance. In the frescoed interior, chapels house two of Genoa’s most notable curiosities: beyond the first pilaster on the right is a shell fired through the roof from a British ship offshore during World War II that never exploded, and in the Cappella di San Giovanni (left aisle), a 13th-century crypt contains what crusaders returning from the Holy Land claimed to be relics of John the Baptist. Fabled tableware of doubtful provenance appears to be a quirk of the adjoining treasury: The plate upon which Saint John’s head was supposedly served to Salome, a bowl allegedly used at the Last Supper, and a bowl thought at one time to be the Holy Grail. The less fabled but nonetheless magnificent gold and bejeweled objects here reflect Genoa’s medieval prominence as a maritime power. Entrance is only by guided tour; though the tours are only in Italian, you should take one anyway to get in and be able to look at what’s inside.
Piazza San Lorenzo - Tel.010-311-269
Admission to cathedral free;
Treasury 5.50€ adults, 4.50€ seniors over 60 and students, 11€ family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children.
Cathedral: Mon–Sat 9am–noon and 3–6pm.
Treasury: by half-hour guided tour only (ask for one when you get there) Mon–Sat 9am–noon and 3–6pm

The gothic, private church of the Doria family. The descriptions of the victories of the family are sculpted in the facade (you won't be able to read them).
Inside, the church has a fully different appearance: the precious decoration was done in the XVI century.
To the left of the church there is a charming cloister of the XIV century.

A romanesque church of the XII century. The associated monastery came later, as well as the cloisters.
A must for a well informed tourist. The church is well preserved and in the monastery, in addition to a small but interesting museum, you can see the beautiful Annunciation , see the picture, by Giusto d'Alemagna.

The church is the triumph of the local baroque. The facade is not decorated at all, but inside the decoration is very rich and typical of that style. Together with the several important paintings and frescoes, all this makes the church a gallery of baroque art.

One of the most ancient churches in Genova (XII century).
The early-romanesque character of the church is shown by the wonderful tower, still rising above the body of the temple and not aside it.
Inside, the church is well preserved.
Several important paintings are hosted here, including a Madonna by Niccolò da Voltri and a triptych by Joos van Cleve.

This church, finished in 1500 for the Jesuit fathers, is worth a visit for the works of art it contains: incredible sculptures and works in stucco, while standing out among the many paintings are two altar pieces by Rubens and one by Guido Reni.

San Giovanni Pré is a complex of two churches in Romanesque style, positioned one on top of the other, and founded in 1180 by the Knights of Malta. In ancient times, the building annex served as a hostel for pilgrims heading from Genoa to the Holy Land. It is one of the most striking churches of the city, with its great vaults, black stone walls and wood ceilings. The Romanesque bell tower is one of the few from this period surviving in Genoa.

This is a very ancient church, founded in the X century as a part of an abbey.
The romanesque apsis is the most interesting part of the structure. Funny enough, the right aisle is missing. Originally, the church was complete indeed, but a part of it was cut away to allow the opening of the underlying street.
Inside, the church is rather severe, without important embellishments. However, one should observe the beautiful painting by Giulio Romano on the right wall. The presbitery, high over the crypt, is unique in Genoa.

It was built in 1558 for Angelo Giovanni Spinola, Genovese ambassador to the court of Spain and banker to Philip II. Rather austere on the outside, it's sumptuously stuccoed and frescoed within.

This was the palace of the former rulers of the Republic of Genova, built at the end of the XVI century. The neoclassic facade co-exists with the remains of the previous medieval building at the left. A double courtyard opens toward the very center of the city.
A majestic staircase introduces to the upper floor where the halls in which the government activities took place, the private apartment of the Doge and the chapel are located. All of them are nicely decorated with paintings, frescoes and tapestry.
Today the palace is a well developed cultural site where exibitions, meetings and so on are currently held. A permanent settlement of antiquarian object and "brocanterie" shops is also hosted here.

Erected in the 16th century out of white stone by the Grimalsi family, the White Palace is Genoa's finest home for royalty. The building now houses an impressive art collection amassed by the duchess of Galliera. Northern artists such as Van Dyck and Rubens are represented, and there are several other works by names such as Veronese, Palma il Giovanne and Caravaggio to study and enjoy.

Built between 1671 and 1677, the Red Palace is the result of a collaborative effort between architects and artists. Designed by Pietro Antonio Corradi and Matteo Lagomaggiore, the palace was subsequently decorated by Anton van Dyck, Gregorio De Ferrari and Bernardo Strozzi, among many more, for the comfort and appreciation of the Brignole-Sale family. The palace and its contents were donated to the city of Genoa by the family in 1874.

Also called The Prince palace, it is a huge building once owned by the Doria family (of course). It was built at the end of the XVI century, just outside the city walls. The idea was to give a demonstration of the power and wealth of the family.
The decoration was committed to Perin del Vaga: its frescoes are still there.
In the picture, a roman sarcophagus in the entry hall.
Let's try to imagine how the original complex looked like. The palace had a big park (now very reduced) which reached the sea, where, in a private harbour the private fleet of the prince docked. Furthermore, the full hill behind the palace was part of a second park, where an enormous statue stood, showing the prince as Jupiter. Actually, it should have been impressive, certainly worth of an emperor: Charles V was hosted in the palace.

When, in the XVI century, the Renaissance Genova expanded out of the boundaries of the narrow medieval city, the local noble families competed in rising new palaces. The result was what is today called Via Garibaldi, a wonderful street which Peter Paul Rubens liked so much to prepare an album with the drawings of all the palaces, having in mind to reproduce them in the Flandres.
The Palazzo Tursi, now the town-hall, is one of the best. Particularly interesting is the architectural solution of the problems arising from the overhanging hill.

The Royal Palace takes its name from its 19th- to early-20th-century tenants, the Royal House of Savoy, who greatly altered the 17th-century palace built for the Balbi family. The Savoys endowed the sumptuous surroundings with ostentatious frippery, covered with elaborate 17th- and 18th-century stuccowork and frescoes, most in evidence in the hall of mirrors, the ballroom, and the throne room. The rooms are filled with the dusty accouterments of the Italian royalty which once lived here (or at least used it as a home when they occasionally passed through), and a lot of paintings by relative nobodies interspersed with a few by Tintoretto, Luca Giordano (in the crushed velvet throne room), and Van Dyck. The English placards explaining each room will help you identify them.

In the XIII century, the government of the Republic was installed in this building which later became property of the Banco di S. Giorgio, the administrator of the public finance.
The most recent part, facing the sea, includes several beautiful halls decorated with paintings and sculptures.
The medieval aisle has been strongly restored with a certain amount of fantasy about a century ago. However, several original parts are still there.
Via Frate Oliverio

One of the town gates in the walls of XII century. Quite similar to Porta dei Vacca on the other side of the high medieval city. A latin epigraph below the arch proudly says approximately:
If you come peacefully, you may touch these gates; if you demand war, you will leave off defeated.

One of Genoa’s finest palaces, built of white stone by the powerful Grimaldi family in the 16th century and enlarged in the 18th century, houses the city’s most notable collection of art. The paintings reflect the fine eye of the duchess of Galliera, who donated the palace and her art to the city in 1884. Her preference for painters of the northern schools, whom the affluent Genovese imported to decorate their palaces and paint their portraits, becomes strikingly obvious. Van Dyck and Rubens, both of whom came to Genoa in the early 17th century, are represented here with one painting each, as they are in the city’s other major collections; one of the museum’s most notable holdings is Portrait of a Lady by Lucas Cranach the Elder. The collection also includes works by other European and Italian masters (Filippino Lippi, Veronese, Palma il Giovanne, Caravaggio, Hans Memling, Jan Steen, Murillo, and Ribera), including several Genovese masters who were the catalyst for the city’s flourishing art movements—an entire room is dedicated to the works of Bernardo Strozzi, whose early-17th-century school made Genoa an important force in the baroque movement.
via Garibaldi 11 - Genoa
phone.: 010/5572013/203 fax: 010/2475357
museopalazzobianco@comune.genova.it

Another lavish 17th-century palace now houses, as does its neighbor the Galleria di Palazzo Bianco (see above), a magnificent collection of art. Many of the works—including many lavish frescoes were commissioned or acquired by the Brignole-Sale, an aristocratic family who once lived in this red-stone palace. Van Dyck painted two members of the clan, Pauline and Anton Giulio Brignole-Sale, and their full-length portraits are among the masterpieces in the second-floor portrait galleries, whose ceilings were frescoed by Gregorio de Ferrari and Domenico Piola. La Cuoca, widely considered to be the finest work of Genovese master Bernardo Strozzi, and works by many other Italian and European masters—Gudio Reni, Dürer, Titian, Guercino, and Veronese among them—hang in the first-floor galleries.
Via Garibaldi 18 - Genoa
phone.: 010/2476351 fax: 010/2475357
museopalazzorosso@comune.genova.it

Europe’s largest aquarium is one of Genoa’s biggest draws and a must-see for travelers with children.
The structure alone is remarkable, resembling a ship and built alongside a pier in the old harbor (the aquarium is about a 15-min. walk from Stazione Principe and about 10 min. from Via Garibaldi). Inside, more than 50 aquatic displays realistically re-create Red Sea coral reefs, pools in the tropical rainforests of the Amazon River basin, and other marine ecosystems. These environments provide a pleasant home for sharks, seals, and just about every other known kind of sea creature, and even the displays are fun—one room is a forest of transparent columns eerily lit and filled with jellyfish; the playful seals and dolphins like to blow trick bubbles to entertain you; and there are small rays in a shallow pool that you can pet. All the descriptions are posted in English. There’s also a 10-minute 3-D film on ocean life (ask for a sheet with the narration in English).
Ponte Spinola - Tel 010-234-5678
Bus: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, or 15.
Admission 13€ adults, 7.50€ ages 4–12
Daily 9 am–11pm (Last admission 9:30pm).
http://www.acquario.ge.it/

Once a private park, it is now a green oasis in the very center of the city.
Some exotic corners can be discovered.
At the top of the hill, there is the nice Eastern Art Museum where artifacts from China, Japan and Thailand are shown.
Villetta Di Negro - Piazzale Mazzini, 4 - Genoa
phone.: 010-542285 fax: 010-580526
museochiossone@comune.genova.it