Via di Pre, Genoa

Via di Prè is a narrow, historic alley in Genoa's ancient quarter-one of the city’s best-known medieval streets. Running west from Vacca Gate to Commenda Square, it marked the city’s main medieval route to the countryside before the newer avenues appeared.

Lined with tall buildings draped in ivy and marked by elegant overhead arches, Via di Prè captures the atmosphere of everyday Genoa. Weathered façades with traditional shutters, hanging laundry, and small craft shops reflect generations of lived-in history. Along the route, the medieval Commandery of Saint John of Prè recalls the street’s role as a sanctuary for pilgrims journeying to the Holy Land in the 1100s.

Today, the alley is alive with a multicultural vibe: local markets, ethnic eateries, and small stores line its cobbled path. It offers a real slice of Genoa’s traditional caruggi-unpolished, familiar, and deeply atmospheric.