The 10 Best History Museums in Genoa, Liguria

Villa del Principe - Palazzo di Andrea Doria is the richest and most sumptuos noble household of the city of Genoa, the Villa of the only Prince Genoa ever had. It was 1529 when Andrea Doria, skilful admiral and legendary man of arms, began the constructions that would have lead to the rise of this wonderful Villa overlooking the Gulf of Genoa. To live its splendour once again it is sufficient to stroll through its halls, in wonder in front of its amazing fresco paintings and incredible tapestries.

Set between the Cathedral and the nearby Palazzo Ducale, the cloister of San Lorenzo was built in the 12th century on the site of the ancient Carolingean defense walls as the residence of the priests serving the Cathedral. The structure of the building is rather complex due to the works of various restorations throughout the centuries. The first restoration works began in the XVI century; in 1653 two floors were added and thus the airy Romanesque loggias of ambulatories were substituted with broad and massive arches supported by strong pillars. Sold to the City in 1923, the cloister was accurately restored between 1988 and 1992. This project was preceded by archeological investigations which uncovered the remains of a house dating from the Roman era (1st c. BC). On the upper floors, the walls show precious wall paintings dating from the 13th century, such as the rare Cycle of the Months. The cloister houses the Diocesan Museum, which displays works from all the churches of the Dioceses, including archeological finds; silver ornaments; sculpture groups, such as the Sepulchral Monument to Luca Fieschi; works with gold-leaf backgrounds, such as the Polyptych of Saint Bartholomew, by Barnaba da Modena (14th c.); and numerous altar pieces by artists such as Perin del Vaga, Luca Cambiaso, Domenico Fiasella, Domenico Piola, and Gregorio De Ferrari. The Museum also houses a valuable textile section and the collection of the Teli della Passione, (Cloths of the Passion), painted in 1538 on indigo blue linen, an “ancestor” of the modern denim (Textile Collection, The Regional Board for the Historical, Artistic, and Ethno-Anthropological Heritage of Liguria, in the depository of the Diocesan Museum).

The Museum is about the Ligurian ancient past; this land was a crossroad of people and cultures, moving between Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. You can meet the Cave Bear, who lived here 80,000 years ago, during the Ice Age, and some people from the Paleolithic, buried in the caves close to Genoa. One of this people is called The Young Prince, even though he is 23,000 years old, and his grave goods are very rich and particular. After, you can find the evidences of who lived in Genoa, over 2,500 years ago, or in the trade routes, between Etruscan area and Marseille; red-figure pottery, bronzes from Etruria, alabaster vases and glasses vases from East Mediterranean. The exhibition continues with “Tavola del Polcevera”, linked with the bloody events of the Roman Conquest of Liguria and its towns, Luni, Tortona and Libarna. Last but not least you can see the collection of Greek and Roman materials, owned by the Prince Odone di Savoia and the mummy of Pasherienaset, an Egyptian priest of the 6th century b.C., and his “living image”, the little statue of him.

The Augustinian monastery complex of medieval origin (13th century) houses the museum with sculptures, Italian and Ligurian detached frescoes, and stone artefacts from the 10th to the 18th century. Alongside works by F. M. Schiaffino, Valerio Castello, Domenico Piola, Luca Cambiaso, and F. Parodi, stand out masterpieces by Giovanni Pisano and Pierre Puget.