Impressions

    Glimpses of priceless beauty, from the mountains to the sea, lead you by cliffs covered with green and dotted here and there by ancient buildings, with walls of white stones, ancient churches and graceful towers, up to the coast with its turreted houses of bright colors.
    From the narrow strips of beaches you are introduced among the villages of vital complexity, with pieces of sky and sun penetrating in the throbbing silence of the alleyways.
    Each center tells a simple but rich story, with walls full of centuries on which the golden light is reflected.
    Then there is the magnificence of the cities, filled with diverse arts, and enriched in every age with gifts of the land and the sea.
    The superb buildings tell stories of power and splendor, and opening their austere portals they reveal interiors of dazzling splendor and wealth.
    Churches and cathedrals, dripping with treasures, offer the view of their precious artefacts, jealously guarded for centuries.
    Sculptures by stern and alive look recount their exploits and their pride of being ancestors.
    So among headlands, coves, gleaming villages and silent towers, you get lost with the look on the horizon, leaving the colors of the sunset, drawing art forms in the faster clouds in the sky, up to welcome the nightfall, with the peace and the harmony of a sea silvered cantilever from the stars.
   

The Royal Palace of Genoa

    It was built by the Balbi family in the early seventeenth century, then it went to the Durazzo family, which transformed it, by the architect Carlo Fontana, into an impressive residence of representation, currently included in the UNESCO World Heritage.
    Fontana incorporated in the palace some surrounding buildings and enriched it scenographically by a solemn atrium from which depart the monumental staircases, thus separating the courtyard from the picturesque gardens, with lush vegetation and exotic plants, which divide the body of the building from the port area below. In the interiors of the 18th century, particularly significant are the Gallery of Mirrors, the Hall painted by Valerio Castello and the Gallery of Chapel.
    In 1822 the building was sold to the Savoy, so it assumed the name of Royal Palace and acquired new furniture and environments, including the Throne Room, Audience Hall and the Ballroom.
    Currently the main floor houses the Gallery of Palazzo Reale, where you can still admire the original furniture from the middle of 18th century to the early 20th century.
    The Hall of Battles is decorated with large paintings of naval battles; the Hall of Time has its walls covered by 23 paintings contained in stucco frames.
    The Hall of Mirrors has a magnificent and spectacular look, with fresco decoration (1730) by Domenico Parodi, supplemented by a series of Roman statues.
    Very important is the art gallery, which in addition to paintings by great artists of the seventeenth century Genoese, as Bernardo Strozzi, Grechetto, Giovanni Battista and Domenico Gaulli Fiasella, boasts masterpieces by Bassano, Tintoretto, Luca Giordano, Van Dyck Ferdinand Voet and Guercino.
    Also interesting is the collection of ancient and modern sculptures, among which works by Filippo Parodi, one of the greatest exponents of Baroque sculpture Genoese.