A heritage guide to Locanda di Palazzo Cicala
An independent, non-commercial guide to a 16th-century Genoese palazzo turned boutique hotel and serviced apartments — and to the historic centre of Genoa that surrounds it.
Piazza San Lorenzo, in the heart of old Genoa
Locanda di Palazzo Cicala occupied the noble floor of a palazzo dating back to the mid-16th century, facing Piazza San Lorenzo directly opposite Genoa's cathedral. The building passed through the hands of the Cicala family, the De Mari nobles, and later the Ferro family — who gave its facade its Rococo character — before opening as a small hotel in the early 2000s. Read the full story on our history page.
Sources: archived pages of hotels-genoa.co.uk (2009–2022), recovered via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
Five named apartments
Alongside the hotel rooms, the property described five individually named apartments, each in a different part of the palazzo network — Ducale, Duomo, Giustiniani, Imperiale and Sopranis. We've written up what the archived pages genuinely said about each.
Explore the guide
Genoa's old town — "la Superba" — is a maze of narrow caruggi, grand Rolli-era palazzi, and a harbour once among the busiest in the Mediterranean. This guide covers the property's rooms and apartments, the palazzo's documented history, the landmarks within a few minutes' walk, and Genoa's genuinely recurring annual events.