Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace Museum), Genoa (must see)

It all started with silk, money, and ambition. The Balbi family made their fortune trading fine fabrics and running financial deals, so, in the 17th century, they decided to spend that success loudly. The result was a palace grand enough to land on today’s World Heritage list.

Then history took a darker turn. In 1657, the plague swept through Genoa, and Stefano and Giovanni Battista Balbi did not survive it. The palace changed hands, passing to the Durazzo family-merchants who had arrived in Genoa as refugees from Albania and worked their way to the very top of the city’s elite. If Genoa loved a success story, this was one of its favorites.

Another chapter opened in 1823, when the House of Savoy entered the scene. King Carlo Felice turned the palace into his summer residence, adding royal polish to an already impressive address. By 1919, the building entered public ownership, trading crowns and court life for culture and preservation.

Today, the palace houses Liguria’s heritage offices and the Royal Palace Museum, and this is where the real visual feast begins. No two rooms follow the same script. Each space has its own mood, its own message, and its own idea of grandeur.

The Battle Room goes straight for drama, lining its walls with 18th-century naval battles that remind you Genoa once ruled the waves. In the Hall of Time, you are surrounded by 23 works by Tintoretto and Bassano, an unapologetic display of artistic firepower. The Hall of the Veronese raises the stakes further with a 17th-century copy of The Supper of Christ in the House of Simon the Pharisee after Paolo Veronese.

Then comes the showstopper: the Hall of Mirrors. Designed by Domenico Parodi for Girolamo II Durazzo, it takes inspiration from Versailles and runs with it. This glittering space once hosted dinners for Joseph II and Napoleon Bonaparte-impressive evidence that power, like good taste, always likes a dramatic setting.

The visit ends on a quieter note in the Chapel Gallery, dedicated to the Passion of Christ. Here, a striking Christ at the Column by Filippo Parodi brings the palace back from spectacle to reflection-an elegant final pause in a building that has seen wealth, tragedy, royalty, and history all under one roof.