I’ve had Genoa on my list for a very long time—a beautiful city on the Ligurian Sea that I knew had incredible palazzi and food (among many things, pesto and focaccia). I also always have a soft spot for places that most people don’t talk about. The first person who told me I had to get there was an old friend whose taste I trust implicitly. Then Matt met a couple in the Rome airport who live there (we ended up doing a story on their collection of vintage hotel stickers), and who told us about 3rd- and 4th-generation men’s shops and beautiful 19th-century chocolate boutiques that they just knew we’d love. A friend recently went to a weekend party there for Friends of Genoa, a nonprofit that helps promote and preserve the historic city. And the final nudge was reading the excellent story that my friend Maria Shollenbarger wrote for HTSI (you should read it for a proper deep dive–I’m just giving some highlights here!).
No doubt part of the reason I’d never gone was that there wasn’t a good hotel to stay in, but when I read about the new Palazzo Durazzo Suites in Maria’s piece, I was sold. We flew from Rome (for the moment, Genoa isn’t really well connected—it would have taken us most of the day to train there), and landed in the late morning. We arrived at the Palazzo Durazzo and were overwhelmed with how beautifully restored it was—a 7-year labor of love carried out by Emanuela Brignone Cattaneo (the architect who oversaw the project and owns it with her husband, Giacomo Cattaneo Adorno) and Cesare Barro, the artistic director. It opened last summer and stays open year-round. We dropped our bags in our room, the Doge Suite, one of the most beautiful rooms I’ve ever stayed in in my life.
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