Like all the little towns of the Riviera, also Albenga was an ancient Roman settlement, called Ingauna.
The beachfront is just as nice as the other villages. Yet what makes it so interesting is its historical centre ("centro storico"), which reminds that the foundations of the present town were set in the Middle Ages, particularly with its splendid churches, influenced by the Gothic style.

Piazza San Michele (c) is heart of the historical centre. Here you find the Medieval Cathedral (Duomo), endowed with a wooden organ, and a splendid late-Gothic belfry.
At the side of the cathedral there is the ancient medieval municipality compound - the "Palazzo Vecchio del Comune" - with its majestic tower adorned with beautiful windows. They host the town museum. In front of them there is a tower, used as jail during the Middle Ages.

In the "Piazzetta dei Leoni" (Little Square of the Lions - photo e), at the back of the Cathedral, there is the 15th century Palazzo Costa (presently Palazzo Vescovado, Episcopate Palace), with its Torre Merlata (Battlemented Tower, it is the 4th at the right in photo c). The name of the Piazza originates from the three stone lions which the Costa family brought from Rome in 1608. It is adorned with fine cobblestone, like all the historical centre.

The Battistero (Baptistery - photo g) of the Cathedral maintains intact its 5th century architecture. It has a decagonal profile (with ten sides). On the way to Piazza San Michele you find the elegant Savior church.
It is worth mentioning also Piazza Girolamo Rossi, with medieval buildings among which there is a perfectly preserved house of the 13th century, and the Palazzo Peloso Cepolla, hosting an Ancient Roman Naval Museum.

It would be a mistake though to consider the "Centro Storico" a museum. In the little alleys around the monuments there are many craftmen shops, cozy and great restaurants and pizzerias, elegant boutiques and antiquaries. You can  see how opposite palazzi were adjoining in the Middle Ages, with windows very near (this was a defensive measure so that invading pirates could not concentrate and could be attacked from the palazzi). It is impressive to see that people live very comfortably presently in these buildings.