Description of the attraction
Piazza Ferrari, located between the old part of Genoa and its business center, is the main square of the city. It was originally called Piazza San Domenico, as it was home to the Church of St. Dominic. At the beginning of the 19th century, the church was dismantled during the restoration work carried out under the direction of the architect Carlo Barabino. The square got its current name at the end of the 19th century after the name of the house of the duke and patron of the arts, Rafael de Ferrari, standing next to it. In 1879, a bronze monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi riding a horse was erected on it, and in 1936 a monumental fountain appeared in the center of the square, which later became one of the symbols of Genoa, along with the La Lanterna lighthouse. In 2005, the Ferrari metro station was opened nearby.
Today, Piazza Ferrari is Genoa's main venue for public demonstrations and festive concerts. It is surrounded on all sides by historic buildings that are now popular tourist attractions. Here you can see the side façade of the Doge's Palace, the Church of Jesus, the Exchange Palace, built in 1912, the main theater of the city of Carlo Felice and the Museum of the Academy of Fine Arts of Liguria, founded in the middle of the 18th century. The last two buildings were built by the same Carlo Barabino, a local native, in 1825. In addition, there are numerous office premises, banks and insurance companies nearby, which makes the area the financial and business center of Genoa.
