Square of Lions

 

Piazza dei Leoni is the most characteristic square of the city. It is paved according to the typical cobblestone system of Albenga and owes its name to the three stone lions placed in the 16th century for ornamental reasons by a member of the Costa family who owned the houses that overlooked the site. It is overlooked on one side by the apse of the Cathedral, on the other hand the Casa Costa - Del Carretto of Balestrino stands out, restored in 1963 and now home to the parsonage. The Torre dei Costa with its splendid Ghibelline battlements rises from this

The Balestrino Palace closes the square, one of the few in Albenga built from scratch and not the result of complex mergers. It dates back to the Renaissance period, it is decorated inside with busts and tombstones. One of these, of considerable historical value, celebrates the reconstruction of the Roman city by General Costanzo in the 5th century AD C .. Since 1954, after the legacy to the Curia of the last heir of the Marquises del Carretto di Balestrino, the palace is the Episcopal seat. Of the Marquises the emblem with the letters FOCDCMDB remains on the cobblestones in front of the entrance of the building. Lamboglia has thus interpreted: Fecit Octavianus Costa De Carreto Mark De Balestrino (Work of Ottaviano Costa Del Carretto Marquis of Balestrino)

location