Page 154 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italian Riviera

152  THE IT ALIAN RIVIER A AREA B Y AREA

r Street-by-Street: Albenga

In the province of Savona, Albenga is one of the Riviera di
Ponente’s most important cities. It owes its fame not only to its Porta Molino
historic centre, one of the best-preserved in Liguria, but also to is the largest of
the mildness of its climate and the fertility of the surrounding the gates in the
city walls.
plain, which has been under cultivation since the Roman era
and produces a wide range of fruit and
vegetables. The Roman town of Albingaunum
was founded on the site of a port built by the
Ingauni, a Ligurian tribe. For centuries,
Albenga’s prosperity depended on the River
Centa, but its role as a major sea power
declined after Genoa asserted itself, and
after the port silted up. A long avenue
links the old city to the coast, now a V I A T O R L A R O
short distance away. O
R
O
’
D
Porta Torlaro E
A solid bastion L I
called Il Torracco, P I A Z Z A R O S S I G
once used as a D A
prison, projects E
from the M
northwest E
corner of the city L L
wall. Alongside is E VIA B. RICCI
DOMENICO
17th-century D
Porta Torlaro. PIAZZA SAN V I A
Lengueglia Doria Tower and V I A C A V O U R
House lie at the end of Via Ricci. PIAZZA SAN MICHELE
The tower dates from the 13th
century, while the brickwork house
was built in the 15th century. V I A R O M A

Via Bernardo Ricci,
lined with intact or
restored medieval
houses, is Albenga’s
most picturesque
long street. In the
Roman era it formed
part of the main road,
or decumanus
maximus, as did its
continuation, Via
Enrico d’Aste.

Loggia dei Quattro Canti
Set at the corner of Via Ricci and Via
Medaglie d’Oro, this loggia features one . Baptistry
rounded arch and one ogival arch and dates This is the only example of late Roman
from the transitional period between the architecture left intact in Albenga. Built
Romanesque and Gothic styles. In the by the general Costanzo in the early 5th
Middle Ages, it served to increase visibility century, the baptistry is the foremost
and ease the traffic flow at the crossroads. Early Christian monument in Liguria.
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp182–3 and pp194–7

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