Anywhere Italy
00 Loano
Stemma di Loano

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.

Best time
Apr–Oct
By car
1 h 16 min from Genoa
By train
Station in the comune
Population
10,701

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

  • J12°
  • F14°
  • M15°
  • A17°
  • M21°
  • J25°
  • J29°
  • A30°
  • S26°
  • O21°
  • N17°
  • D13°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 27° and coldest in February at 14°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

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

Loano is on our list. Its letter is still to come.

We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Loano comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Loano in our articles

How to get there

From Genoa (GOA), about 1h 11m by car.

Turin (TRN) is about 2h 26m away.

By car from the centre of Milan 2h 34m.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming from Genoa or Turin?

Coming by train into Genova Piazza Principe? Loano is about 1h 14m away by road.

Every town within reach of Genoa airport.

Loano, photo 1
Loano, photo 2

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

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.

Plan your trip

We recommend

Where to eat

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

  • BagattoRistorante

    Bagatto carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.

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.

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

Common questions

What is Loano known for?
Loano is 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.
Where is Loano?
Loano is a comune in the province of Savona, in Liguria, at 13 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Loano?
Genoa (GOA), about 1h 11m by car.
Can you get to Loano without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Milan to Loano?
About 2h 34m by car.
When is the best time to visit Loano?
Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 11 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Loano?
Yes. Sagra di San Pio X e IX Run San Pio and Sagra Gastronomica di San Pio X. August is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Loano?
Lavagna, Chiavari and Arenzano.
How many people live in Loano?
10,701 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 13 m
  • Population: 10,701
  • Surface area: 13.48 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

Similar

Towns like Loano

🟦 Bandiera Blu

More Bandiera Blu towns in Liguria