Albenga:
its museums

Albenga and its museums

A modern city that does not forget its ancient historical roots, that shows itself to the future by resting on a living past, Albenga is a treasure chest to be opened and discovered in all its beauty; it is a city of Art destined to play a leading role on the stage of world culture. Treasures are hidden everywhere: ancient towers, medieval walls, monuments, the Baptistery, the Cathedral, noble palaces and various religious buildings emerge from the past.
Even the cold underground heart holds unique archaeological finds.
Albenga guards its historical treasures in several fine museums.

THE INGAUNO MUSEUM AND THE CIVIC TOWER

The museum located in the Old Town Hall displays evidence of ancient Roman and Byzantine Albingaunum: epigraphs, cinerary urns and other stone fragments.
The Loggia, built in 1421, preserves a mosaic floor from the first century A.D., a marble puteal from the late imperial period, medieval inscriptions and the ancient units of measurement of the City of Albenga. On the back wall is the large fresco of the Crucifixion, by Giovanni Canavesio, from the late 15th century. The large Civic Tower, constitutes an example of 14th-century architecture for its fusion of Romanesque and Gothic elements.
Often hosting art exhibitions, it is the place of choice to be able to admire from above the enchanting panorama of the entire plain, all the way to Gallinara Island.

THE ROMAN NAVAL MUSEUM

Also inside are artifacts from another Roman ship that sank in the Gulf of Diano Marina. The presence of educational panels allows visitors to trace the relationship between man and the sea in the ancient world.
Since 1957 the collection of apothecary vases from the S. Maria di Misericordia hospital in Albenga has been on display in the museum, including a hundred or so pieces in majolica decorated in blue monochrome, typical of the Savona and Albisola area, produced between the 16th and 19th centuries.
Completing the museum itinerary is the permanent exhibition “Prehistory in the Pennavaira Valley”; the material on display, covers a time span of about 15,000 years, during which the cultures of groups of hunters, early farmers-breeders, to the Metal Age and the thresholds of history followed one another.

THE DIOCESAN MUSEUM OF SACRED ART

preserves within it a rich collection of works of art spanning more than a thousand years of history.
Walking through its rooms, one can admire early Christian artifacts, medieval paintings, 16th-century tapestries, and even 18th-century statues.
The gems of the collection are the three paintings: the “Martyrdom of St. Catherine of Alexandria” by Guido Reni, the “Miracle of St. Verano” by Giovanni Lanfranco, and the “St. John in the Desert” ancient copy from Caravaggio.
The museum is housed inside the ancient Bishop's Palace, and the visit allows visitors to pass through the “stanza delle verzure” and the chapel of the ancient tower, which were frescoed in the 1560s by Bishop Napoleone Fieschi and were once used as the private apartment of the bishops of Ingauni.