National Gallery of Spinola Palace (Galleria Nazionale di Palazzo Spinola)

This stately home passed hands from the Grimaldis, who built it in 1593, to the Pallavicinos, to the Dorias, to the Spinolas and then to the Italian State in 1958 when it was given, along with its contents, as a donation by the Spinola family. It is, to all intents and purposes, the amassed collections of these four powerful families and includes paintings, silver, ceramics and antique furniture. The bottom two floors host these collections in sumptuous, rococo rooms which have been maintained in their original state. You really do feel as though you are walking through somebody’s house and when you come across a real live kitchen between the first and second floors you remember that the Marquises lived there up until 1958. Get some interior decorating tips from Maddalena Doria’s 1734 dining room and don’t miss the famous gallery of mirrors on the second floor too. The third and fourth floors were partly destroyed during WWII and now, restored, form the National Gallery of Liguria where works acquired after the donation are housed. Paintings are by Tintoretto, Antonello da Messina, Van Dyck, Rubens, Reni, Van Cleve, Gentileschi, Cambiaso and other Genoese masters. Before you go, step out onto the terrace for a view of the rooftops.