the bay, and beyond these is the colossal statue of Jupiter, which is 

 backed by the bosco and forms such a conspicuous feature in the 

 landscape. A new road, in course of construction across these 

 terraces (1905), threatens shortly to sweep away the last vestiges of 

 interest. 



The Renaissance villas in the neighbourhood of Genoa frequently 

 occupy long, and comparatively narrow, strips of steeply sloping ground. 

 The palace or casino is often placed at or near the foot of the hill with a 

 smaller garden or forecourt in front, and the principal garden on the 

 hill-side at the rear, the wilder portion or bosco being reserved for the 

 summit. 



' For many miles east and west ot Genoa the coast is sprinkled with 

 villas of the merchant Princes, but many of the more sumptuous were to 

 be found in the suburbs of Albaro and Sampierdarena. The latter was 

 the favourite resort of the wealthy down to the end of the eighteenth 

 century, and the broad level shore hereabouts was the fashionable 

 evening promenade. Its popularity seems even then to have been on the 

 wane, for we are told that many of the villas were neglected or only 

 occupied occasionally. This neglect, followed by the extension west- 

 ward of the busy manufacturing element, has quite changed the character 

 of the place. Stately palaces have been degraded into warehouses or 

 factories, and their delightful gardens have fallen into decay, or been 

 built over, or reabsorbed into the surrounding vineyards. Albaro, on 

 the other hand, has been more fortunate, and, thanks in large measure to 

 its elevated situation, still retains much of its suburban character. 



About the year 1550 Galeazzo Alessi "to his great honour was 

 invited to enter the service of the Genoese republic." His first work 

 was to extend and fortify the port, but shortly afterwards we find him 

 engaged on work possibly more to his taste, for he began to lay out the 

 Strada Nuova, that celebrated street of palaces. From this time onwards 

 he was busily employed in the erection of palaces and country houses 

 for the nobility, and he is credited with the Villas Pallavicini delle 

 Peschiere, Sauli, Serra, Spinola, Giustiniani, and Grimaldi, besides minor 

 adornments for existing gardens. Soprani writes : " We have also two 

 works by this architect, mentioned by Vasari ; namely the fountain of 



