Page 56 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italian Riviera

54  GENO A AREA B Y AREA

Street-by-Street: Around Piazza Matteotti

Within the dense warren of the Centro Storico (the square
overlooked by the cathedral), Piazza San Lorenzo, and Piazza
Matteotti, in front of the Palazzo Ducale, create welcome
open spaces. Nearby is Piazza De Ferrari, a 19th-century
project developed to link the old city with the western,
modern and industrial part of Genoa. Within this maze of
streets there is almost no sense of the nearby sea, except for
sudden glimpses of a blue horizon. There are numerous . Piazza San Matteo
places and monuments of interest in this area: churches of At the heart of the district
ancient origin such as Santa Maria di Castello, Santa Maria that was home for centuries
to the Doria family, this
delle Vigne and Sant’Agostino; a variety of public spaces medieval piazza preserves
(Piazza Banchi, Piazza San Matteo, Via di Sottoripa); its original appearance.
as well as public and private buildings, including The beautiful church of
San Matteo is
the supposed birthplace of Christopher also medieval.
Columbus, the aristocratic Palazzo Spinola
di Pellicceria, and Palazzo San Giorgio, Palazzo
Spinola
from whose frescoed façade there
are beautiful views of the sea. P I A Z Z A C A M P E T T P I A Z Z A S A N

1 . San V I A D I M AT T E O
Lorenzo S C U R R E R I A SALITA SAN
The cathedral was MATTEO
surrounded by
the medieval city
until the building V I A A R C I V E S C O V A D O
of Via San Lorenzo
along the church’s The port, Piazza
right-hand side, and Banchi and Palazzo
the addition of a flight San Giorgio
of steps up to the V I A S A N L O R E N Z O
façade, both dating
from the mid-19th century. PIA ZZ A
M A T TEO T TI

2 . Palazzo Ducale V I A P O R TA S O P R A N A
The seat of the doge of Genoa, this
building was begun in the Middle
Ages, but was much altered in the
16th and 18th centuries. The
palazzo has two large courtyards
and contains valuable works of art. I
L
O
U
T A A I
I L
L L
A O
S P

w Museo di Sant’Agostino V I C O T R E R E M A G I
The cloisters of the ruined church
of Sant’Agostino house a collection of
sculpture and architectural relics from
around the city, including this 17th-century
Madonna and Child by Pierre Puget.
For hotels and restaurants in this area see p180 and pp188–9

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