To continue the tour of historic Genoa, move on to the Piazza De Ferrari and take a walk along Via Dante to the Columbus House beside the Medieval Porta Soprana city gates. Located in Vico Dritto di Ponticello, the house is the site of a residence and shop established in 1455 by Domenico Colombo, father of Christopher Columbus. Here the elder Columbus plied his trade as a weaver of woolen cloth. It is certain that Columbus lived there as a young boy.

Restoration of the Columbus House was completed in 2001 under the auspices of a project inspired and supported by the Clinton Administration’s Millenium project, "Save America’s Treasures" initiative.

From the Columbus House, head back toward the Piazza De Ferrari, passing the Carlo Felice Opera House on your right. Continue on, veering to the left and following the Via XXV Aprile to Piazza Fontane Marose. The piazza opens into Via Garibaldi, once known as Strada Nuova or Via Aurea.

This elegant street lined with splendid palaces built as private homes was conceptualized in the 1550s by Gian Galeazzo Alessi. The Palazzi constituted the residential area of Genoa’s upper-class families who were bent on giving the city a decidedly sophisticated and prestigious avenue to rival its counterparts elsewhere in Europe, while at the same time affirming their oligarchic presence over local society.

When the painter Peter Paul Rubens came to Genoa as a young man in 1606, he was so impressed by the local architecture that in 1622 he published a collection of plans and elevations entitled I Palazzi di Genova (The Palaces of Genoa).