Via Giuseppe Garibaldi (Giuseppe Garibaldi Street), Genoa (must see)

Giuseppe Garibaldi Street is where Genoa is showing off—and doing it with historical justification. This was one of the famous “New Streets,” laid out in 1583 when Genoese aristocrats decided their medieval lanes no longer matched their wealth.

At first, it went by practical names like Strada Maggiore (or Major Street) and Strada Nuova (New Street) before confidence kicked in, and it earned the nickname Strada Aurea, the Golden Street. Only in 1882 did it take on the name Giuseppe Garibaldi in honor of the general and revolutionary who greatly contributed to the Unification of Italy. The street's measurements were precise, but the ambition was anything but modest: just under a 1,000 feet long, relatively narrow, and packed edge to edge with palaces.

By the late 16th and 17th centuries, Genoa had enough money to burn and no interest in hiding it. The city’s oligarchs pushed north, reshaping the urban map and imagining a city of grand palaces and elegant villas beyond the old medieval core. This street became their architectural calling card—a place where wealth, taste, and rivalry all competed for attention, façade by façade.

Names changed as fortunes rose, but the message stayed the same. Today, Garibaldi Street anchors the New Streets Museum complex, linking three high-end properties: the Doria Tursi Palace, now Genoa’s City Hall; the White Palace, home to major art collections; and the former Podestà’s Palace. Together, they read like a résumé written in stone.

Back in the days of the Republic, these palaces served a very practical purpose. Genoa kept official Rolli lists—ranked registers of noble homes approved to host visiting kings, princes, diplomats, and church authorities. The higher the guest, the grander the palace. Hospitality here was a civic duty, but also a competitive sport.

Today, you can time your visit with Rolli Days, held each spring and autumn, when normally closed palaces open their doors to the public. And if you’re wondering whether all this repetition ever becomes too much, Charles Dickens had an answer. Writing in Pictures from Italy, he confessed he couldn’t forget these “streets of palaces,” where one grand building follows another, again and again. Genoa, it seems, has always liked to leave a strong impression—and then add one more...