Loano

The palace was built between 1574 and 1578 for Giovanni Andrea Doria and his wife Zenobia Del Carretto, to a design attributed to Galeazzo Alessi or one of his pupils. It is a Renaissance residence with something of a fortress about it, which you notice in the pentagonal tower added in 1602 to guard the walls and linked to the palace by a walkway. Today it houses the town hall. Look for the sixteenth-century slate doorway and, in the gardens, the Fontana Giovanna and a small open-air theatre.

Inside, in the Sala del Mosaico, is a fragment of a Roman floor mosaic from the third century AD, found in the town centre. Entry is free during town hall opening hours, and the room often hosts temporary exhibitions. Recent digs in the lanes of the old town have uncovered more mosaic fragments and walls that point to a Roman villa of the imperial age.

The old town was enclosed by walls with four gates. The best known is Porta Passorino, closing Via Cavour to the west: in 1774 a small tower with Savoy coats of arms, a clock and a bell was added, so locals also call it the Clock Gate. Following the line of the walls you reach the pentagonal tower and the San Sebastiano bridge over the Nimbalto stream, built in 1691.

North of the centre, Borgo Castello is the oldest part of Loano: a small square with arches and terraces, cobbled lanes and a stairway leading up to the castle. The first fortification dates from the twelfth century and the Doria turned it into a residence in the sixteenth. The castle is privately owned and can only be seen from outside, but the hamlet is worth the short detour.

On the hill above town, the convent of Monte Carmelo was founded by the Doria in the early seventeenth century and given to the Carmelite friars, who still live there. It has a church, a cloister, a defensive tower and a palace; the Doria were buried in the crypt. You reach it over a viaduct and a cobbled ramp that end in the square in front of the church.

The walk up from the centre is short but steep: carry water in summer and go early in the morning or towards evening. From the terrace in front of the church you see the whole bay of Loano. The church is usually open morning and afternoon, with donations welcome. Do not confuse it with Monte Carmo, the 1,389-metre mountain behind Loano.

In the 2000s Loano filled its squares with fountains by contemporary artists: Sandro Lorenzini’s Fountain of the Hours, with 24 columns that spout water every hour and all together at noon and midnight; Ugo Nespolo’s In cima al mondo, a bronze globe with a child on top; Walter Valentini’s Le Misure, il Cielo; Fulvio Filidei’s Vibrazioni ritmiche loanesi; and two stone works by Bruno Chersicla, Neptune and Conversation at the Spring. Spotting them all is a good game with children.

In Palazzo Kursaal, home of the public library, a permanent exhibition tells the story of Loano’s seafaring past through old photographs, ship models and tools. On the promenade, the Casetta dei Lavoratori del Mare is a late nineteenth-century building that started life as a maritime health station and is now a small museum of objects donated by fishing families. Opening times vary by season, so check at the tourist office.

East of the centre, the marina has about a thousand berths and takes yachts up to 77 metres. Even without a boat it is worth a stroll along the breakwater, especially at sunset, with bars and restaurants along the quays.

Karst caves with stalactites, prehistoric footprints and the bear cemetery: a guided tour of about 70 minutes.