Genoa in a day: what to see

Genoa hides behind its industrial port one of Europe's most extensive medieval historic centers, a maze of narrow caruggi alleys where sunlight struggles to filter between buildings.

A maritime capital for centuries, the city preserves in its Palazzo dei Rolli, UNESCO World Heritage, signs of the wealth accumulated by the bankers and merchants who made it a Mediterranean power.

The Cathedral of San Lorenzo, with its striped white and black façade, opens the day: inside it custodies the Sacro Catino, by medieval legend the plate used at the Last Supper.

From there you easily reach Via Garibaldi, the Renaissance street flanked by the Palaces of the Rolls, the noble residences that Genoese patricians placed at the disposal of visiting heads of state.

Descending through the caruggi, the narrow lanes of the historic centre, you reach the Ancient Port, redeveloped in the 1990s to designs by Genoese architect Renzo Piano, now home to Genoa's Aquarium, Italy's largest.

For lunch, a Genoese focaccia or a dish of trofie with pesto in one of the centre's trattorias remains the choice most consistent with local tradition.

In the afternoon, the Lighthouse is the city's symbolic beacon, among the world's oldest still operational, visible from much of the harbour.

Along the seaside walk, Boccadasse is the ancient fishing village with coloured houses clustered around a small pebble beach, now absorbed into the urban fabric yet still capable of seeming a place unto itself.

With evening, returning toward the Ancient Port, venues overlooking the basin remain the most convenient for dinner, with the old city's lights behind you.

The Cathedral, Via Garibaldi, and the Old Port are enough to show Genoa's seafaring and noble soul, while the afternoon choice between the Lanterna and Boccadasse completes the picture with its monumental or intimate side.

The monumental cemetery of Staglieno and a trip to Cinque Terre remain chapters for a second visit. Seeing the colorful houses of Boccadasse overlooking the sea captures Genoa in a single glance.