Genoa

Proud and steadfast: Genoa

Breathe in the effervescence of Genoa in a THI Collection hotel

Secret and mysterious as only a port city can be, Genoa reveals itself with reluctance, bits at a time.

Proud and steadfast, for eight centuries it was a powerful Maritime Republic with an invincible fleet. A city with a glorious past, Genoa today is a modern cosmopolitan metropolis able to look to the future.

Squeezed between land and sea, it has been rethinking its future urban development, entrusted to the insights of one of its finest sons, architect Renzo Piano. Tied mainly to the maritime sector, Genoa boasts one of Europe’s largest and most advanced ports, spectacularly ensconced between the lofty hills of Liguria. Its historic centre of little squares and narrow alleyways is a blend of medieval buildings and Renaissance and baroque palaces, and was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006.

Home to important personalities in the world of art and culture, Genoa’s symbols are the Lanterna, the old lighthouse visible far out to sea, and the monumental fountain in Piazza De Ferrari, a work by Crosa di Vergagni, the same architect who designed and built the historic headquarters of ILVA, now transformed into the elegant five-star Bentley Hotel.