What is Loano known for?

Renaissance palace built 1574-78 by the Doria, now the seat of the comune, with a Roman imperial-age mosaic on the main floor. Tourist marina east of the centro, ranked among the world's ten most beautiful by Yachting Pages in 2019. Two kilometers of sand and gravel beach flying the Bandiera Blu, the longest continuous swimming front on this stretch of Riviera.

When is the best time to visit Loano?

Apr–Oct. April through June and September into October are the strongest months on the Loano front, with the marina full of boats and the beach manageable. July and August are warm, often 28 to 31 degrees, and the population doubles with families on long stays from Milano and Torino. November through March is the calmest stretch but the town stays open because 10,700 residents keep daily services running; the Madonnetta opens for the seafarers' mass on 8 December. The arc of mountains behind the town, from Monte Carmo down, gives Loano slightly milder winters than communes further east on the Riviera.

Loano is a comune in the province of Savona, Liguria region of Italy, about 83 kilometers from Genova.

How do I get to Loano?

From Genova, Loano is roughly 83 km by road.

Liguria · Savona

Loano

A Doria fief on the Savona coast where a Renaissance palace stands over a Roman mosaic, in the shadow of the mountain that shelters it.

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

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

The festa: Giovanni Battista, 24 June

Why come

Loano lies sixty kilometers southwest of Genova, at the foot of the arc of mountains that shelters it from inland weather. 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: the palace at the centro's heart, the loggia beside it where civic business was once conducted, and, indirectly, the church that stands nearer the harbor, built for the town's seafarers and still holding their votive offerings of brigantines and barques. The old centro, with its palace, loggia and church, sits inland of the modern marina and the two kilometers of beach that run east from it. The mountain at Loano's back and the harbor at its front mark the two poles the town has always worked between: the Doria who governed from the hill and the sailors who prayed by the water.

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.

What to see

Palazzo Doria
Considered one of the most representative civil Renaissance palaces in Liguria, its rooms now house the town's administrative offices, and the mosaic floor remains open to view on the main level.
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
The Yachting Pages ranking sits alongside a working harbor east of the centro, with the beach running two kilometers of sand and gravel toward it.
Loggetta di Loano
Sixteenth-century covered loggia near the palace, 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

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Plan your trip

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

Sagra di San Pio X e IX Run San Piopatron saint's feast
usually held in August. MangiareInLiguria - Sagre ed Eventi
Sagra Gastronomica di San Pio Xfood festival
usually held in August. TrovaSagre

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

On the map

Google Maps Apple Maps Directions from Genova

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.

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