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We've compiled the best of the best in The Italian Riviera - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Housed in the richly adorned Palazzo Spinola north of Piazza Soziglia, this beautiful museum contains masterpieces by Luca Giordano and Guido Reni. The Ecce Homo, by Antonello da Messina (1430–79), is a hauntingly beautiful painting, of historical interest because it was the Sicilian Antonello who first brought Flemish oil paints and techniques to Italy from his sojourns in the Low Countries. Or so some contend.
Beautifully situated in a 16th-century villa (with a garden and great views), this collection houses a vast amount of paintings, sculptures, and drawings from the very recent past. The artists are largely not household names, but a visit here is well worth it (as are their contemporary exhibitions).
One of Europe's most noteworthy collections of Japanese, Chinese, and Thai objects is housed in galleries in the Villetta di Negro park on the hillside above Piazza Portello. There's also a fine view of the city from the museum's terrace.
Founded in 1751, the city's art school has a museum with a collection of paintings from the 16th to the 19th century. Genovese artists of the Baroque period are particularly well represented.
Damaged during World War II, the 13th-century Gothic church of Sant'Agostino now houses a museum displaying pieces of medieval architecture, sculptures, and frescoes. Highlights of the collection are the enigmatic fragments of a tomb sculpture by Giovanni Pisano (circa 1250–1315). Surviving from the original construction are the fine campanile with a Moorish inlaid marble design and two well-preserved cloisters (one of which is the only triangular cloister in Europe). If you have a ticket for the Childhood Home of Christopher Columbus, present it here for a discounted entry.
It's difficult to miss the splendid white facade of this town palace and museum as you walk down Via Garibaldi (also known as Strada Nuova), one of Genoa's most important streets. The building houses a fine collection of 16th- and 17th-century art, with the Spanish and Flemish schools well represented. There's also a textiles collection.
