Liguria · Savona
Loano
A Doria fief on the Savona coast with a Renaissance palace, a Roman imperial mosaic, and a top-ten world marina.
Known for
PALAZZO DORIA
Renaissance palace built 1574-78 by the Doria, now the seat of the comune, with a Roman imperial-age mosaic on the main floor.
MARINA DI LOANO
Tourist marina east of the centro, ranked among the world's ten most beautiful by Yachting Pages in 2019.
BANDIERA BLU
Two kilometers of sand and gravel beach flying the Bandiera Blu, the longest continuous swimming front on this stretch of Riviera.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: Giovanni Battista, 24 June
Why come
Loano sits at the foot of Monte Carmo, 1,389 meters of mountain rising behind the coast, sixty kilometers southwest of Genova. The town was an imperial fief of the Doria family from the thirteenth century, and the family financed the major public buildings still in use today. Palazzo Doria, built between 1574 and 1578 and now the seat of the comune, is considered one of the most representative civil Renaissance palaces in Liguria; a Roman imperial-age mosaic is visible on the main floor.
The Chiesa di Sant'Agostino, founded 1582 by Zenobia Del Carretto and rebuilt 1588-98, sits near the harbor and is known to the loanesi as the Madonnetta, the seafarers' church, with votive offerings of brigantines and barques inside. Marina di Loano, the modern tourist port east of the centro, was ranked among the world's ten most beautiful marinas by Yachting Pages in 2019, and the beach stretches two kilometers of mixed sand and gravel.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Loano’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
By subscribing you agree to Substack’s Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy and our Information collection notice.
What to see
Palazzo Doria
Renaissance palace built 1574-78 by the Doria, now seat of the comune, with a visible Roman imperial-age mosaic on the main floor.
Chiesa di Sant'Agostino
Founded 1582 by Zenobia Del Carretto, rebuilt 1588-98; called the Madonnetta, the seafarers' church, with votive ship models inside.
Marina di Loano
Modern marina ranked among the world's ten most beautiful by Yachting Pages in 2019; sand and gravel beach extends two kilometers east.
Loggetta di Loano
Sixteenth-century covered loggia near the Palazzo Doria, the historic civic meeting space of the centro.
Monte Carmo
1,389-meter peak behind the coast, the highest of the arc of mountains that shelters Loano from the inland weather.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Loano fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
Living here
- Population 10,701
- A local hubi
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Genoa, 1 h 11 min drive
- Regional capital Genova, 1 h 16 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 13 m
- Population: 10,701
- Surface area: 13.48 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Close by
More towns near Loano
Toirano
Province: Savona
A medieval village at the mouth of the Val Varatella, four kilometers inland from Loano, with karst caves holding 14,000-year-old human footprints.
Borgio Verezzi
Province: Savona
Two villages joined under one comune in 1933: Borgio on the Bandiera Blu beach and Verezzi at 200 meters on the pink-stone hill above.
Pietra Ligure
Province: Savona
A Riviera di Ponente town named after the seventh-century castle on its rock, with one of the largest flower carpets in Europe every three years.
Finale Ligure
Province: Savona
Three boroughs on the Gulf of Genoa, with walled Finalborgo as the Del Carretto seat and a Bandiera Blu beachfront below.
Zuccarello
Province: Savona
A 280-person medieval borgo in the Neva valley above Albenga, founded by the Marquises of Clavesana in 1248, birthplace of Ilaria del Carretto.
🟦 Bandiera Blu
More Bandiera Blu towns in Liguria
Camogli
Province: Genova
A fishing village on the Golfo Paradiso whose nineteenth-century fleet of a thousand white sails made it Italy's third maritime power in the Mediterranean.
Celle Ligure
Province: Savona
A Riviera di Ponente beach town with kilns firing since the 1600s and a Lucio Fontana ceramic on the parish church façade.
Chiavari
Province: Genova
The Tigullio capital between Portofino and the Cinque Terre, a 27,000-person Genoese trading town built around a thirteenth-century grid of porticoed streets.
Diano
Province: Imperia
A twin destination on the Riviera dei Fiori — the medieval hilltop borgo of Diano Castello above and the palm-fronted beach resort of Diano Marina below — sharing one Bay of Diano, one Taggiasca olive valley, and the longest Bandiera Blu beach in western Liguria.