Savona

Savona is a coastal city in Liguria, Northwest Italy, the capital of the Province of Savona. It is the third largest city in Liguria, after Genoa and La Spezia.

Get in

By car

Savona is easily accessible by car from Genoa. The journey takes just over half an hour, on the A10.

From the West, Savona is approximately an hour from San Remo and two hours from Nice. This scenic route largely follows the coast.

From Turin, taking the A6, the journey takes around 1 hour 40 minutes.

By train

Trenitalia runs regular services from Genoa to 1 Savona train station. It is most convenient to catch the train at Piazza Principe. Regional services, which take 40 minutes to an hour, are very frequent, and generally cost around €10 for a return ticket. Faster InterCity services take around half an hour but are less frequent and cost approximately €18 for a second class and €21 for a first class return.

By bus

Most of the larger villages and towns in the province of Savona have reliable bus services to the city, although departures may not be very frequent.

Get around

The historic centre of Savona is relatively small and easily explored on foot. Bus services may be useful for travelling out to the beach.

Bus

• TPL Linea, ☏ +39 01922011, posta@tpllinea.it. single (valid for an hour) €1.50; day-pass €2.60. (updated Sep 2016)

Taxi

• Radio Taxi Savona, ☏ +39 019 808080. 24 hour service. (updated Sep 2016)

See

The interior of the Cathedral of the Assumption

• 1 Palazzo Della Rovere.  
• Promontorio del Priamar
• 2 Nostra Signora di Castello.  
• 3 Cathedral of the Assumption (Cattedrale di Nostra Signora Assunta), Via Ambrogio Aonzo. The Cathedral of Assumption as it stands was largely built in the late 16th century, although the cloisters have some medieval elements. It was built to replace the earlier cathedral which was demolished by the Genoese to build the Priamar Fortress. While the exterior is early baroque, the interior is richly decorated in typical 18th century Italian style. Earlier surviving elements include the ornately carved wooden choir stalls by Anselmo De Fornari and Elia De Racchi, made between 1520 and 1521, the Byzantine font, and the pulpit, which was partially salvaged from the old cathedral. The treasury contains a small collection of high quality Renaissance paintings, including works by the Master of Hoogstraeten and Tuccio d'Andrea. Guided tours of the cathedral are available from 10:00 to 12:00 and 16:00 to 17:00 on Saturdays, and 16:00 to 17:00 on Sundays. Tourists may not visit during services. A donation is requested to see the choir stalls. (updated Nov 2016)

The Sistine Chapel, in the cathedral cloisters, retains its original Gothic appearance.

• 4 Sistine Chapel (Capella Sistina), Via Ambrogio Aonzo. Sa Su 10:00-12:00 and 16:00-17:00. Although modest compared to the Sistine Chapel in Rome, this church in the late Gothic style, in the Cathedral cloisters, is well worth seeing. It was built on the orders of Pope Sixtus VI between 1481 and 1483 to house the tomb of his parents, Leonardo della Rovere and Luchina Monteleoni. The interior decoration is extravagantly Rococo, dating from 1762 to 1764, and is in excellent condition. There are some traces of the original frescoes of 1489 behind the altarpiece. The organ of 1764, with its original casework, is a rare survival from this period, built by the Genoan organ builder Filippo Piccaluga, and was restored in 2008. €2. (updated Apr 2017)
• Bishop's Palace (Palazzo Vescovile), Via Pia. The Bishop's palace is an imposing edifice, built in 1589 and substantially altered in the 18th century. The museum inside houses a collection of Italian landscape and marine paintings of the 18th and 19th centuries. The Papal apartments, where Pope Pius VII was imprisoned by Napoleon between August 1809 and June 1812 as well as briefly in 1814, can also be visited - the state rooms where the Papal Court was temporarily housed have been restored. Guided tours are available on Saturdays at 16:00. (updated Nov 2016)

Palazzo Gavotti, which houses the Ceramics Museum and the Municipal Art Gallery.

• 5 Ceramics Museum (Museo della Ceramica), Palazzo Gavotti, Piazza Chabrol, ☏ +39 019 8310256, musei@comune.savona.it. Tu 10:00-13:30, W-F 10:00-13:30, 15:30-18:30, Su and public holidays 10:00– 13:30. The Ceramics Museum is in a 16th-century palace in the historic centre of Savona, and boasts one of the finest collections of ceramics in the world. The collection is heavily focused on Ligurian ceramics, with two floors dedicated to production from the 16th to 18th centuries. There is also a recreation of a 16th-century apothecary's shop with over a hundred original items. The museum features a strong collection of modern ceramics, including Arturo Martini's famous sculpture Nena and Albero de Kaki by Maria Galfré, a life-size terracotta tree. Detailed information on the displays is available in English and Italian in each room. The ticket is also valid for Pinacoteca Civica located in the same building. €8, €5 concessions, free for minors, disabled people and students (ticket is also valid for Pinacoteca Civica). (updated Apr 2017)
• Municipal Art Gallery (Pinacoteca Civica di Savona), Palazzo Gavotti, Piazza Chabrol, ☏ +39 019 8310256, musei@comune.savona.it. Tu 10:00-13:30, W-F 10:00-13:30, 15:30-18:30, Su and public holidays 10:00-13:30. The city's collection of paintings is housed with the Ceramics Museum in Palazzo Gavotti, and the same ticket grants entry for the two museums. The collection is unusually strong for an Italian regional gallery, especially given the presence of the large scale Crucifiction by Donato de' Bardi, which dating to 1448 is the oldest oil on canvas painting known to survive. There is an impressive collection of local 15th and 16th century religious painting. The collection of modern art housed on the ground floor is also worth seeing, and includes several more obscure works by major artists, with the enigmatic La confidence capitale by Magritte being a particular highlight. Picasso, Miro, De Chirico and Fontana are also represented. €8 (ticket is also valid for the Ceramics Museum). (updated Apr 2017)

Sleep

• Colletta, info@colletta-it.com. Via Colletta Castelbianco. Colletta di Castelbianco is a medieval stone village in the Maritime Alps 15 km from the Italian riviera. It was abandoned in the 1950s, but has since been restored as Italy's first internet e-village with fibre optic internet, modern apartments and a small conference centre. It is now home for a small community of teleworkers and a destination for holiday makers, working holidays and team retreats. 
• NH Savona Darsena, ☏ +39 019 803211. Via A. Chiodo, 9. The hotel is in the historical ‘Vecchia Darsena’ port, close to the Brandale tower, a symbol of Savona. The NH Savona Darsena can be found surrounded by history: The Priamar Fortress, the historic centre, The Brandale Piazza, Chiabrera Theatre. Next to the shopping district, the building has views of the river Ligure and the beach. 

Go next

Routes through Savona

Sanremo ← Finale Ligure ←

W  E

→ Genoa → Livorno