Holiday apartment in Savona: art, Priamàr and the sea

Savona combines art history, fortress architecture, the sea and unusual museums. During your stay in a holiday apartment or holiday home in Savona, you can focus on paintings and ceramics, views from Priamàr, the beach or a hike in the surrounding area.

Art, ceramics and Savona’s past

The Pinacoteca Civica documents the artistic development of Savona and Liguria from the 14th to the 20th century. Its outstanding works include the Pala Fornari by Vincenzo Foppa; it also highlights the Crocifissione by Donato de’ Bardi as a unique work in the panorama of Renaissance painting.

With more than 1,000 works spanning five centuries, the Museo della Ceramica in the Palazzo del Monte di Pietà presents the history of ceramics from the Renaissance to the present day. The immersive installation Quadrisfera by astrophysicist Paco Lanciano conveys the history of Ligurian ceramics through images and multimedia impressions.

The Civico Museo Archeologico e della Città di Savona presents an exhibition route on two floors, with ceramics as its guiding theme, and displays the most important excavation sites carried out to date in the Savona area. There, you can visit an excavation area of a Byzantine necropolis dating from the 4th to the 7th century AD; traces of the village of the Liguri Sabazi are visible. The museum is accessible and has a tactile tour with Braille labels for visitors with visual impairments.

Priamàr between the fortress and city views

On the Priamàr hill, Genoa began construction of the fortress on 2 August 1542; by 25 April 1543, the initially built complex was capable of being defended. Paths, bastions and balconies form a promenade with views of the sea, the mountains, the city and the harbour.

The complex houses the Civico Museo Archeologico e della Città di Savona and the Museo Sandro Pertini e Renata Cuneo. Underground, Priamàr contains galleries, connecting passages and subterranean rooms; the Gruppo Speleologico Savonese DLF organises guided tours of them.

The Appartamenti di Pio VII preserve the original furnishings installed under the direction of General Chabrol for the Pope’s stay, as well as paintings and sculptures by important artists. The Cattedrale di N.S. Assunta was built in the 16th century and consecrated in 1605. The Cappella Sistina was built as a funerary chapel for Leonardo della Rovere and Luchina Monleone; from 1762 to 1764, it was restored and transformed from a Renaissance funerary chapel into a magnificent Baroque church.

Sea, towers and nature experiences

The Spiaggia Prolungamento a Mare has an approximately one-kilometre-long sandy beach with a sandy seabed that slopes gently towards the open sea. It includes two freely accessible beaches and eight bathing establishments: Bagni Savona, Bagni Aurora, Bagni Iris, Bagni Wanda, Bagni Nilo, Bagni Anna, Bagni Sirena and Bali Beach.

The Torre del Brandale has interior rooms with paintings, inscriptions and sculptures that illustrate centuries of history from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. From the bell chamber, views extend over the harbour and the city of Savona, as well as along the Ligurian coast towards Genoa and Portofino. The All About Apple Museum presents the history of Apple computers; the devices on display are switched on and operational and may be freely handled.

In the wider area around Savona, the route from the Santuario N.S. di Misericordia to the Riserva dell’Adelasia can be walked independently and without a guide on any day of the year, passing through woodland and interesting natural landscapes.

Further destinations for planning your trip include Marina di Andora, Albenga, Tovo San Giacomo, Bardineto, Sassello, Coasco, Piana Crixia and Stellanello.

Back to the main travel overview: Savona.