Traces of the original Roman settlement can be
seen in the remains of suburban villas along the
route of the ancient Via Julia Augusta, and the
ruins of the baths, an aqueduct, the
amphitheater and a number of tombs, including
the so-called “Pilone”. The center of the city of
Albenga has retained its compact medieval
structure, with houses huddled against towers.
The heart of the historic center is Piazza San
Michele, on which the cathedral stands:
structures from the eleventh century survive in
the lower part of the façade and from the
thirteenth century in the upper part. Its
campanile, rebuilt in 1391-95 with five stories
on a Romanesque base, is considered one of the
finest late Gothic monuments in Liguria. The
interior of the church, which has been restored
to its medieval appearance, houses frescoes by
Carrega, a panel painted by Pancalino in 1520
and a fifteenth-century Pentecost, in addition to
the monumental nineteenth-century Serassi
organ. A few meters away stands the baptistery,
which has remained practically intact since the
fifth century, and the medieval complex of the
Palazzo Vecchio del Comune (Old City Hall)
with its charming tower on a base of black
stone, dating from the fourteenth century.
Behind the apse of the cathedral lies the
Piazzetta dei Leoni, named after its three stone
lions from the Renaissance, which is dominated
by the sixteenth-century Palazzo Costa (now
the bishop’s palace) and the battlemented tower
of the same name. Other relics of the Middle
Ages can be seen in Piazza Girolamo Rossi,
with its intact example of a fourteenth-century
house, and on Via Bernardo Ricco which
retains much of its original appearance. A visit
to the museums of Albenga also provides an
opportunity explore the splendid buildings in
which they are housed: the Palazzo Vecchio
and the decorated rooms of Palazzo Peloso
Cepolla, formerly the archbishop’s palace.
Nowadays the Albenga plain is used chiefly for
the growing of potted plants, herbs and high-value
early produce, using advanced farming
methods supported by the Center for Agricultural Experimentation and Assistance of
the Savona Chamber of Commerce.
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