This accumulation of bricks is known as the house of Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) and it is the location of where it’s thought he lived between 1455 and 1470. The actual building is later, built in the early eighteenth century, and a relatively early attempt to try and preserve history. It’s thought that the original structure was destroyed during the 1684 Bombardment of Genoa by the French.
The property is now just two stories in height, but the reconstructed one was across five stories. However, when they knocked the neighbouring buildings down, which had shared beams, they lopped off the top half of this structure. That seems a slightly less inspired attempt to maintain history, but at least something is here.
It’s now a museum, but I didn’t pop in as the reviews weren’t that positive and I can’t say I’m entirely engaged with reconstructed buildings or extensions that are turned into ballrooms. It’s said that the building was lower in height in around 1900, but I can’t find any photos of how it might have looked before that.