Behind Savona’s sprawling port facilities, the city’s unexpectedly graceful medieval centre is well worth a stop. Among the old-town treasures to survive destruction by Genoese forces in the 16th century are the baroque Cattedrale di Nostra Signora Assunta and the lumbering Fortezza del Priamàr. There’s also a nice urban buzz, with lots of new shops, bars and restaurants regenerating the old centre.

Savona is a seaport and comune in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea.

HIGLIGHTS

Savona used to be one of the chief seats of the Italian iron industry, having iron-works and foundries, shipbuilding, railway workshops, engineering shops, and a brass foundry.

Right in the heart of the Italian Riviera, the city is often neglected by tourists who focus their attention on the more attractive seaside locations. After all, most of the tourists come to the area for its beaches and pristine waters and do not even think that Savona might be an interesting place to visit.

One of the most celebrated former inhabitants of Savona was the navigator Christopher Columbus, who farmed land in the area while chronicling his journeys. ‚Columbus’s house‘, a cottage situated in the Savona hills, lay between vegetable crops and fruit trees. It is one of several residences in Liguria associated with Columbus.

Main sights

Churches

• The Cattedrale dell’Assunta (Cathedral of the Assumption), built after Genoese demolition of the old cathedral. It kept the relics of Saint Valentine.
• The Cappella Sistina (Sistine Chapel), adjacent to the Cathedral and built 1480-1483, it containing the Mausoleum erected by the Della Rovere Pope Sixtus IV to honor his parents, Leonardo Della Rovere and Luchina Monleone. The construction was commissioned by Giovanni D’Aria and his brother Michele. The chapel is architecturally similar to the chapel dedicated to the Cardinal Pietro Riario in the Basilica of the Santi Apostoli, Rome. After years of deterioration, in 1765-1767 a reconstruction was ordered by the Genovese Doge Francesco Maria Della Rovere. This updated the chapel in a Rococo style, with ceiling painted by Paolo Gerolamo Brusco. The Cathedral has a noteworthy 16th-century carved wooden choir seats.
• The church of Nostra Signora di Castello (Our Lady of the Castle) has a large altarpiece by Vincenzo Foppa and Ludovico Brea painted in 1490.
• The Sanctuary of Nostra Signora della Misericordia (Our Lady of Mercy).

Towers and fortress

• The Torre Leon Pancaldo (Leon Pancaldo Tower), built in the 14th century and also known as „Torretta“, is the symbol of the town.
• The Torre del Brandale (Brandale Tower), also known as Campanassa (Commune tower, where the freedom declaration of Savona was signed in 1191) and towers Corsi and Riario.
• The Priamar fortress, built by the Genoese in 1542 after their conquest of Savona, on the area of the old cathedral and old city and later used as a prison and military priso. In 1830-1831 Giuseppe Mazzini was imprisoned in the fortress and he „dreams“ the „Giovine Italia“. Inside the fortress there is the Museum Centre of Priamar.

Palaces and others

• The Palazzo Della Rovere (Della Rovere Palace), built by Cardinal Giulio della Rovere (future Pope Julius II) and designed by Giuliano da Sangallo as a university.
• The Palazzo Gavotti (Gavotti Palace), built in the 15th century. Inside the palace there is the Art Museum of Palazzo Gavotti that contains the Pinacoteca of Savona, the artwork of Fondazione Museo di Arte Contemporanea Milena Milani in memoria di Carlo Cardazzo and the new Ceramic Museum.
• The Palazzo Delle Piane (Delle Piane Palace), an important building in Liberty style of Savona.
• In neighbourhood of Savona remains a house documented as property of Domenico Colombo, father of Christopher Columbus, where they lived for many years (Christopher Columbus lived in Savona for much of his youth).
• The Villa Zanelli, an important Liberty-style former residence and hospital.