We are in Piazza San Michele, the beating heart of Albenga, named after the Cathedral dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel. The main buildings of the medieval city are concentrated around you: the Cathedral façade with its bell tower, the early Christian Baptistery, the Palazzo Vecchio del Comune with its tower, the current Town Hall, and Palazzo Peloso Cepolla, now home to the Roman Naval Museum.
If you look closely, you'll notice a distinctive feature: towers. Albenga boasts an exceptional number of them for northern Italy, so much so that it's nicknamed "the city of a hundred towers." These structures, built between the 12th and 13th centuries, were symbols of power for the most influential families.
The square was not only a religious and political center, but also a space for daily life: the grain market was held here, religious ceremonies and even public trials were celebrated under the municipal loggia.
Today, walking among the buildings and towers, you can still breathe the atmosphere of a lively medieval city proud of its past.
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