piazza De Ferrari

Piazza de Ferrari is the civic centerpiece of Genoa, linking the UNESCO-listed medieval old town to the grand 19th-century boulevards of the modern city. Named after Raffaele de Ferrari, a Genoese-born duke and financier whose legacy funded much of the city's 19th-century transformation, the square took its current monumental form around the turn of the century as the city's de facto agora. Its bronze fountain — finalized in 1936 — shoots fan-shaped jets of water from a wide circular basin and serves as the square's unmistakable focal point. The surrounding ring of eclectic and neoclassical facades includes the Teatro Carlo Felice opera house and the Palazzo della Borsa with its ornate art nouveau interior. In the evenings, lit fountains and illuminated facades make it a natural gathering point before performances or late dinners in the old port.