As you walk along Via Garibaldi, remember to look up to your right, then up to your left, so you can truly grasp just how bella a città Genoa really is. Nowhere is that beauty more clear than in the stunning palaces lining the street, each one a shining example of Genoese Renaissance elegance from the 1500s. Take Palazzo Bianco, for example. It doesn’t take long to see that no expense was spared by the nobility at the time, especially Luca Grimaldi, who had this architectural gem built around 1530. Like many opulent homes from that era, the palace was added to something called the Lista dei Rolli. This was an official register listing noble families who were expected to host dignitaries such as princes, cardinals and ambassadors, at their own cost. In a city made wealthy by the Crusades and booming maritime trade, this unique system ran smoothly for generations. Between 1658 and 1711, Palazzo Bianco changed hands twice. When it came into the possession of Maria Durazzo Brignole-Sale, she modernised it with lighter exterior finishes. The transformation was so striking that it earned the nickname “Palazzo Bianco”, the White Palace. In 1889, the last heiress left the palace to the city, with one wish, to create a public gallery. Today, it displays works by the most celebrated Genoese painters, alongside Flemish and Dutch primitives, as well as Italian, French, and Spanish masters.