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Look at... |
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GENOVA Things to see
In this page:
Churches:
Museums:
Other things to see:
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The Aquarium
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This is a spectacular structure, unique in Europe both for its tanks (some among the largest in the world), which reproduce as faithfully as possible the biological habitats and equilibrium of the Mediterranian Sea and the oceans, and for its technological and aesthetic solutions.
The acquarium’s 48 tanks house over 500 different animal species. This close encounter with the marine world and its numerous inhabitants is observed from an absolutely new perspective, thanks to the two viewing levels that the acquarium offers: the first at the bottom of the sea and the second at the water’s surface.
Thus a visit to Genoa’s acquarium is an unforgettable experience. The course of the visit is enriched by a brief filmed introduction and by important thematic expositions, with historical, entertaining or explorative discussions of this fantastic voyage in the seas of the entire world.
But Genoa’s aquarium doesn’t offer only this. The most famous marine park of Europe also has a strong didactic component, intending to educate its public regarding respect for the envrionment and the correct relationship with its animal life. The Teaching Department of the Aquarium, in fact, has the task of guaranteeing that this fascinating adventure of discovering the marine world is also an opportunity to learn, in an enjoyable way, to love and respect nature.
Genoa’s Acquarium is situated in the vicinity of the old port, in the heart of the city. Here displays and events of national importance are held periodically.
Address: Old Port, Spinola Bridge
Tel. offices: 010-2488011; information: 010-2481205
Internet: www.acquario.ge.it
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 9:30 am to 6:30 pm (last entry at 5:30 pm); Saturday, Sunday and holidays 9:30 am to 8 pm (last entry at 7 pm).
Closed Mondays except when these are holidays.
From April 1 through September 15: open also on Monday from 9:30 am ot 8 pm.
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San Lorenzo Cathedral
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The construction of the Romanesque-Gothic cathedral began in 1118 and continued for over three centuries. The facade, with white and black marble bands, has three doors from the 13th century.
These were created by French masters, who were also responsible for the central lunette-shaped panels sculpted to represent Christ in glory and the martyrdom of San Lorenzo. On each side there is a bell tower.
The one on the right was finished in 1552; the other, its top broken off, was crowned by a loggia in 1427.
The cathedral’s interior has three naves, with false galleries ("matronei," terraces for female worshippers in the Middle Ages) supported by columns that connect arches with bi-colored strips.
The nave on the left opens onto the beautiful Chapel of St. John the Baptist, created between 1450 and 1465 by Domenico and Elia Gagini. The statues are by Civitali and Sansovino.
The marble tomb of the Baptist is a work of the 12th century. To the right of the chapel is the entrance to the Museum of the Treasure of San Lorenzo, which contains pieces of gold and silver of exceptional historic and artistic significance, displayed in a very suggestive environment. |
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Church of Santissima Annunziata
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This church is an impressive 16th century that was updated during the following two centuries. The present neoclassical façade with pronao on the columns is from 1843.
The interior, which partially maintains its ancient Baroque splendor, contains works from the 17th century Genoese school: Cambiaso, Ansaldo, Strozzi, Carlone, Piola and Assereto. |
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Church of Santa Maria di Castello
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| This is the oldest church in Genoa. Paleo-Christian in origin, it was completely rebuilt in the 12th century and was embellished in the 15th century. The façade and the bell tower are Romanesque. In the three-naved interior, one can admire paintings by D. Piola, dell’Ansaldo, P.F. Sacchi and G. Masone. Passing through the sacristy, one reaches the Museum of Santa Maria di Castello, which houses a collection of paintings, frescoes, and sculptures from the 15th century. The Dominican Convent adjacent to the church has two 15th century cloisters and a third one from the 16th century. Nearby is the Tower of the Embriachi, built in the 12th century from stone models and decorated with battlements. |
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Church of San Donato
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This Romanesque church was erected in the 12th century.
Its façade has been partially altered by successive interventions. The Gothic doorway with fake prothyrum is original. There is a lovely octagonal bell tower containing biforium, triforium, and loggia above, set atop of the cupola. The interior, with three naves, contains an interesting tryptich by Joos van Cleve (1515), representing the Epiphany. |
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Church of Santa Maria Assunta di Carignano
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| Santa Maria Assunta di Carignano is a large Renaissance church built according to the plans of G. Alessia. Begun in 1552, it is capped by a high central dome and by four smaller domes. The façade is flanked by two bell towers. The interior, which is in the form of a Greek cross, contains altarpieces by painters of the 16th and 17th centuries. There are large Baroque statues in the niches. |
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Art Gallery of the White Palace
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The White Palace, which is flanked by important buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries, is located at number 11, on the picturesque via Garibaldi. Begun in the 16th century, it was finished in 1548 but completely transformed in the 18th century. Now it is the site of the White Palace Art Gallery, one of Genoa’s most important art collections, with paintings by Italian masters (Filippino Lippi, Caravaggio, Procaccini, Morazzone), Flemish (Memling, David, Matsys, Rubens, van Dyck) and Spanish (Murillo, Zurbaran).
The collection of painters from 16th, 17th and 18th century Genoa is particularly vast, including Cambiaso, Strozzi, Assereto, Castiglione, Gregorio DeFerrari, Piola, Magnasco, etc.
The pallium (ceremonial banner or cloak) of Costantinople (1261), an imperial gift to the city of Genoa, is exceptional.
Hours: alternating weeks, 9 am to 1 pm or 2 pm to 7 pm.
Every other Sunday, 9 am to 12:30 pm
Closed Monday.
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Art Gallery of the Red Palace
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The Baroque Red Palace, located at 18 via Garibaldi, was built in 1677. It has two levels of loggia on the internal courtyard. Within its halls is the art gallery, containing frescoes by major 17th century Ligurian painters (Piola, DeFerrari, Guidobono), as well as mobiles, sculptures, mirrors, porcelains, Ligurian ceramics, figurines from nativity scenes and a collection of paintings by Veronese, Reni, Guercino, Preti, Strozzi, Castiglione, Rubens, Van Dyck and Rigaud. The palace also contains a Room of Prints and Drawings, a Library specializing in art history, and a photographic archive.
Hours: alternating weeks, 9 am to 1 pm or 2 pm to 7 pm.
Every other Sunday, 9 am to 12:30 pm
Closed Monday.
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Museum of the Linguistic Academy of Fine Arts
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The Museum of the Linguistic Academy of Fine Arts was founded in 1751. Originally created as a school for painting and sculpture, over time the Academy has expanded its cultural functions.
With its rich collection of art works it has furnished a major museum. In the first floor galleries, the 19th century Palace of the Academia presents works by 14th to 19th century Ligurian painters. There are also paintings from other schools, almost all by artists who had formative contact with the artistic culture of Liguria.
Sometimes these artists, in turn, influenced the course of Ligurian art. Many masterpieces of 17th Genoese painting are represented in this collection. Recent critical re-evaluation has given Genova’s art a more important position in modern Italy.
Interesting testimonies of 14th to 16th century art are represented by paintings on wooden panels contained in a room that benefits from an extremely modern air conditioning system. Paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries demonstrate the continuity of this cultural environment.
Since its creation, the Academy itself has made an essential contribution through its role as a center for teaching and for artistic interpretation.
Address: Largo Pertini 4, 16121 Genoa
Tel. 010-581957 Fax 587810
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 9 am to 1 pm
Closed Sundays and holidays.
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Museum of Ligurian Archaeology
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Located in one of the most famous historical gardens of Genoa (via Pallavicini, 11) this museum gathers prehistoric artifacts from many Ligurian caves (Balzi Rossi, Arene Candide, Pollera), remains of various pre-Roman burial sites of Genoa, artifacts from excavations of Roman cities in Liguria ( Luni, Libarna, Tortona) and the antiquities collection of Prince Oddone of Savoy.
Summer Hours: 9 am to 7 pm Sunday, 9 am to 12:30 pm. Closed Monday.
Winter Hours: 9 am to 5 pm. Sunday, 9 am to 12:30 pm. Closed Monday.
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Museum of Contemporary Art
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Villa Croce (via Jacopo Ruffini, 3) houses temporary shows and an important collection of abstract and international art from 1930 to 1980. The Cernuschi Ghiringhelli collection contains works by Lucini, Magnelli, Munari, Fontana, Manzoni and Melotti. Sculptures by Genoese and Ligurian artists can be admired, as well as the Sandro Cherchi donation.
Hours: 9 am to 7:30 pm Sunday, 9 am to 12:30 pm. Closed Monday.
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Museum of Ligurian Architecture and Sculpture
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The convent’s restructured cloisters at Piazza Sarzano, 5, contain architectonic fragments, sculptures and detached frescoes, all organized just as they were found.
There are works by Gaggini, Giovanni Pisano, Pierre Puget, Filippo Parodi, Francesco Schiaffino, Antonio Canova, Luca Cambiasco, Valerio Castello and Domenico Piola.
Rooms dedicated to wooden sculptures have recently been established.
Hours: 9 am to 7 pm Sunday, 9 am to 12:30 pm. Closed Monday.
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Museum of Asian Art
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On the edge of the public park Villetta di Negro, the Museum E. Chiossone is housed in a modern building.
This is an interesting gathering of oriental art collected by the painter Edoardo Chiossone during his stay in Tokyo, to which acquisitions by the town of Genoa have been added. One can admire thousands of Japanese pieces from various historical periods - paintings from the 11th to 19th centuries, weapons, suits of armor, ceramics, lacquer works, and theatre masks. The print collection alone includes over three thousand examples from the 18th to 19th centuries. The collection of large sculptures from China, Japan and Siam is also very interesting.
Summer Hours: alternating weeks, 9 am to 1 pm or 2 pm to 7 pm
Every other Sunday, 9 am to 12:30 pm
Winter Hours: Alternating weeks, 9 am to 1 pm or 2 pm to 7 pm
Every other Sunday, 9 am to 12:30 pm
Closed Monday.
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Museum of Natural History "G. Doria"
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The museum is located at via Brigata Liguria, 9. In twenty-four large rooms, many recently remodeled, prestigious geological collections from all over the world are displayed. Gatherings of paleontology, mineralogy and botany are also interesting.
The museum contains a video library, library and teaching center with laboratory.
Hours: 9 am to 12 pm and 3 pm to 5:30 pm
Closed Monday and Friday.
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Naval Museum
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The Naval Museum, located at Piazza C. Bonavino, 7, is housed in a villa that once belonged to Andrea Doria’s banker. The villa is famous for its architecture and fresco decorations.
Sailing instruments, maps, old models and weapons document the maritime traditions of the Genoese Republic and its four centuries of naval history.
Hours: 9 am to 7 pm Sunday, 9 am to 12:30 pm.
Closed Monday.
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Frugone Collection - Villa Grimaldi Fassio
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Immersed in a luxurious park with a splendid rose garden, the 18th century villa conserves two important collections of 19th and 20th century art. Among Italian and foreign artists represented, the most important are Bistolfi, Boldini, Cremona, De Nittis, Fattori, Fontanesi, Favretto, Mancini, Messina, Michetti, Miller, Rubino, Segantini, Signorini, Sorolla y Bastida, Trentacoste and Troubetzkoy.
Summer Hours: 9 am to 7 pm Sunday, 9 am to 12:30 pm.
Closed Monday.
Winter Hours: 9 am to 5 pm. Sunday, 9 am to 12:30 pm.
Closed Monday.
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Doria Palace (Palace of the Prince)
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| This is the sumptuous home of the famous Admiral Andrea Doria, built between 1529 and 1547. The elegant loggia overlooking the sea and the expansive garden with its fountains are probably the work of Montorsoli. At the end of the 16th century two loggia were added to the arcades that adorn the long façade on the via San Benedetto. Inside, frescoed rooms contain the work of Perin del Vaga. |
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Ducal Palace
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For centuries the palace was the headquarters for the government of the Republic and the urban hub of the city’s historic center.
The reopening of 1992 transformed it into the largest cultural center of Italy. Exposition halls, archives, libraries, conference rooms and commercial spaces are all brought together here. From 1992 to spring 1997 (fitted out in diverse historical periods that characterize it), the palace has hosted over two hundred expositions and commercial fairs. Meetings, conventions, seminars, literary and scientific presentations, television shows, gala events, musicals and theatrical shows are often held contemporaneously with the expositions.
In creating cultural events, and expositions in particular, an intense didactic component has developed, permitting students to have direct and active involvement in the cultural life of the Ducal Palace and of the city.
Hours: 9 am to 9 pm
Closed Monday.
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Royal Palace
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| The Royal Palace is at number 10 of the elegant via Balbi. Outlined in the 17th century and surrounded by noble buildings, the palace was built in the 17th century and completed in 1705. Its beautiful hanging gardens overlook the port and the scenic stairway of C. Fontana. Within, the rooms exemplify the decorative splendor of the Baroque age. The Art Gallery on the first floor contains Baroque sculptures, tapestries ("arazzi"), oriental ceramics and paintings by Tintoretto, Bassano, van Dyck, the Genoese School (with Strozzi and Grachetto) and the Bolognese School (with Reni and Guercino). |
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San Giorgio Palace
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| The palace, facing Piazza Caricamento, is from the late Middle Ages. It was rebuilt in the Renaissance (1571) and later restored. It is the former headquarters of the famous San Giorgio Bank. |
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Piazza de'Ferrari
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| This vast piazza in the city center, ornamented with a huge modern fountain, is surrounded by imposing buildings, including the Opera Theatre (Teatro Comunale dell’Opera), with its neoclassical façade, and the Palace of the Linguistic and Fine Arts Academy, which houses an art gallery of the 16th and 17th century Genoese School. |
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Piazza San Matteo
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Of medieval origin, this is one of the most fascinating piazzas in Genoa’s historic center.
It is surrounded by the beautiful homes of the Doria, built between the 13th and 15th centuries, and the Church of San Matteo, a Romanesque-Gothic building with a façade in white and black bands.
The church is decorated with a large rose window and an antique mosaic. Inside, rich 16th century decorations are superimposed on the Gothic structure. In the crypt is the tomb of the famous admiral Andrea Doria, and in the apse, a Pietà. These are both works of Montorsoli, from the 16th century.
To the left of the church is a beautiful 13th century cloister with fine binate columns and pointed arches. |
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