Villa Croce

Villa Croce stands on a hill above Genoa’s fairground, its neoclassical façade rising above a public park. The villa was built in the 19th century for Giovanni Giacomo Croce on land once owned by the Spinola family. A wide belvedere at the front looks out over the Gulf of Genoa and the city below. In 1951 the Croce family donated the house to the city with the condition that it become a museum. The building’s clean lines and tall windows still recall its original purpose as a private residence. Inside, the villa shelters the Museum of Contemporary Art, which opened in 1985. More than three thousand works fill its rooms: paintings, sculptures, collages and photographs by modern and contemporary artists. The collection grows each year through purchases and gifts from collectors. Temporary exhibitions occupy the ground floor, while the upper rooms display selections from the permanent holdings. The contrast between the villa’s historic architecture and the bold art on its walls draws visitors back again and again. A winding path through the park leads to the villa’s main entrance. Inside, tall rooms once lit by chandeliers now hold metal racks and white plinths. Large windows frame views of the gulf while visitors move between them and the art. The park itself offers quiet benches and magnolia trees that shade the approach. From the belvedere at the top, the city’s rooftops and the blue line of the sea stretch to the horizon.