Genoa. The home of Pesto and Christopher Columbus, Genoa is often bypassed in favor of Instagram-magnet Cinque Terre or fashionista’s choice Milan. This is a shame because to neglect this handsome port is to miss out on one of Italy’s most affordable, low-key, local-vibes cities. The capital of Liguria is not the most glamorous place in Italy. But its maritime heritage can never be questioned. Its harbor was alive with boats before the Roman Empire had risen, and it spent the Middle Ages as an independent city-state.
