Life in Genoa has revolved around the sea for centuries. A city of merchants and shipowners, its historical centre has grown around the former port. The Bull, Bigo Tower, and the Aquarium by Renzo Piano are symbols of this urban region, the modern look of which is the fruit of restoration work dating from the beginning of the 1990s. Charming narrow lanes (known as ?caruggi') lead off from Caricamento ...

This seafaring village a few miles from Genoa is one of the most exclusive communities on the Ligurian coast.

The city is easily recognisable by its colourful houses

Washing hanging in the windows, old 'carruggi' (alleys) and coloured houses: this is the typical image of Genoa

Genoa lives off its port: in fact, it is the main industrial and commercial port in Italy and one of the largest in the Mediterranean

The history and the legend surrounding Genoa's port are very old: Liguria's administrative centre owes its pivotal role in the Mediterranean to its strategic position.