Via Garibaldi

The Via Garibaldi, in Genoa

The Via Garibaldi is one of the finest streets of Genoa, aligning the sumptuous Renaissance palaces of the Genoese nobility, classified in the world heritage of UNESCO. The Genoa audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this former Strada Nuova, masterpiece of urbanism of the sixteenth century, where some fourteen palazzi rival with façades adorned with stuccoes, marble and frescoes.

History

Via Garibaldi, here you are at last. Why do the Genoese, doubled by the visitors, have only these two words in their mouth? Doubtless because of the splendour and the very particular elegance of this avenue. In the sixteenth century, Genoa is only conquest, grandeur and power: navigating according to the alliances and enjoying an advantageous position on the edge of the Mediterranean, the city makes of its port of maritime commerce its best asset. Witness of a local and foreign nobility increasingly present, Genoa transforms a former empty land into a rich district where dozens of residences and sumptuous palaces grow one after the other. It is thus that was born, at the edge of the historic centre, the Via Aurea, renamed first Strada Maggiore, then Strada Nuova, before becoming in 1882 the current Via Garibaldi. A pure masterpiece of urbanism, this street concentrates some fourteen small palaces with neat gardens and façades decorated with stuccoes, marble or refined paintings. Three of them are today open to the public: the Palazzi Bianco, Rosso and Doria-Tursi.

What to see

Here you wander in one of the finest streets of Genoa, the former Strada Nuova of the sixteenth century, masterpiece of urbanism classified by UNESCO; some fourteen Renaissance palaces with façades of stuccoes, marble and frescoes follow one another, including the Palazzi Bianco, Rosso and Doria-Tursi, open to the public. The Via Garibaldi is the aristocratic jewel of Genoa. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Via Garibaldi lies at the edge of the historic centre of Genoa, reachable on foot. It is a street in free access, classified by UNESCO; three palaces are visited there at fixed hours or by appointment, and you can enter some courtyards. You discover it during a walk in the centre.

Why is the Via Garibaldi of Genoa famous?

Because this former Strada Nuova, traced in the sixteenth century for the Genoese nobility enriched by maritime commerce, is a masterpiece of urbanism classified by UNESCO; it concentrates some fourteen Renaissance palaces with façades of stuccoes, marble and frescoes, including the Palazzi Bianco, Rosso and Doria-Tursi, open to the public.

Where is the Via Garibaldi in Genoa?

At the edge of the historic centre of Genoa, in Italy.