San Donato Church, Genoa, Italy

Genoa

A city of art, the capital of Liguria in northern Italy and metropolis looking onto the sea, Genoa has grown up around the city's port - a natural cove that has always been the site of thriving traffic and commerce. Its ancient heart, Europe's biggest historic medieval center, is crisscrossed by a tight weave of alleys that capture the multicultural soul that has always characterized the city's history. Here, among workshops, eateries, and beautiful shops, glimmers a glimpse of the noble past of Genoa, "La Superba", consisting of sixteenth-century villas, Baroque votive aedicules, and prestigious churches giving onto small squares nestled between the buildings.

Modernity is a few steps away, in places returned to the people and tourists by restoration and great urban renewal projects conducted over the last decade. Genoa offers a dizzying mix of the old and the new.

The Expo with the Aquarium, Via San Lorenzo, the Palazzo Ducale, and the splendid Via Garibaldi full of museums. The city's charm can also be found in the numerous delegations from Nervi to Voltri - autonomous cities until the 20's - where visitors can explore villas surrounded by nineteenth-century parks, picturesque sea strolls, and museums large and small.

Text: www.turismo.comune.genova.it