Savona boasts the honour of having given birth to two illustrious Pontiffs: Sixtus IV and Julius II, who have left an indelible mark on the city.

Papa Sixtus IV in 1400 erected the Sistine Chapel, next to the Cathedral, by Lombard workers, as a mausoleum for parents.

Definitely worth a visit to the mausoleum, for the frescoed vault of the Brusco with the Immaculate and, behind the altar, the “Adoration of the Shepherds”, of Raphael school.  On the outside there is a round marble with the coat of arms of Della Rovere. 

Between the Sistine Chapel and the Cathedral there is the papal loggia from which Pio VII, a prisoner in Savona, looked to bless the faithful.