Description of the attraction
D'Albertis Castle once belonged to Captain Enrico Alberto D'Albertis, and after his death in 1932 it was donated to the people of Genoa. Today, this building, which is of great historical and cultural importance, houses the Museum of the World's Cultures.
Enrico D'Albertis (1846 - 1932) served in the Royal Italian Navy, then in the Merchant Marine, and in 1879 he created the first Italian yacht club and decided to devote himself entirely to yachting. He followed the route of Christopher Columbus, traveling to San Salvador in two boats with self-made navigational instruments - exactly the same as those used by the great navigator. In addition, D'Albertis circled the globe three times, sailed around Africa and organized archaeological excavations with Arturo Issel, an eminent Italian geologist, paleontologist and archaeologist. In general, he was a very outstanding person.
D'Albertis designed his castle, which was built from 1886 to 1892 on the site of the city walls of the 16th century, in the neo-Gothic style. The construction was supervised by the architect Alfredo D'Andrade. It was the first castle-like villa to be built in Genoa. I must say that D'Albertis not only did not destroy the remains of the previous buildings, but, on the contrary, preserved them - and today on the territory of the castle you can see the ruins of an ancient bastion and one of the towers. From the hill of Monte Galletto, on which the D'Albertis Castle stands, a wonderful view of the city and the Ligurian Sea opens up.
In 2004, the Museum of World Cultures was opened within the walls of the castle, since that year Genoa was chosen as the cultural capital of Europe. In the collections of the museum, you can see items of the indigenous peoples of Africa, America and Oceania, including those that have disappeared. Some of the exhibits were collected personally by D'Albertis during his many travels. The annex to the castle houses the Museum of Music of the Nations of the World.
