Albemga

Overview

Traces of the original Roman settlement can be seen in the remains of suburban villas along the route of the ancient Via Julia Augusta, and the ruins of the baths, an aqueduct, the amphitheater and a number of tombs, including the so-called 'Pilone'. The center of the city of Albenga has retained its compact medieval structure, with houses huddled against towers. The heart of the historic center is Piazza San Michele, on which the cathedral stands: structures from the eleventh century survive in the lower part of the façade and from the thirteenth century in the upper part. Its campanile, rebuilt in 1391-95 with five stories on a Romanesque base, is considered one of the finest late Gothic monuments in Liguria. The interior of the church, which has been restored to its medieval appearance, houses frescoes by Carrega, a panel painted by Pancalino in 1520 and a fifteenth-century Pentecost, in addition to the monumental nineteenth-century Serassi organ. A few meters away stands the baptistery, which has remained practically intact since the fifth century, and the medieval complex of the Palazzo Vecchio del Comune (Old City Hall) with its charming tower on a base of black stone, dating from the fourteenth century. Behind the apse of the cathedral lies the Piazzetta dei Leoni, named after its three stone lions from the Renaissance, which is dominated by the sixteenth-century Palazzo Costa (now the bishop�s palace) and the battlemented tower of the same name. Other relics of the Middle Ages can be seen...more

History