Cattedrale di San Siro
Stand at the ogival portal of the Cattedrale di San Siro and look closely at the bas-relief on the right lateral door: the Virgin and Child, flanked by Saints Siro and Romulus, carved in stone that has been read by Ligurian hands for centuries. This is the oldest religious building in Sanremo, and its layered fabric — Romanesque bones, Baroque scars, 20th-century restoration — holds more of the city's actual story than anywhere else in the centro.
The interior divides into three naves under a double order of columns and acute arches. At the high altar, Anton Maria Maragliano's Madonna del Rosario sits on a carved cloud, the Child offering grapes to a cherub. In the right nave, a black 15th-century crucifix — protector of sailors — carries a reputation that outlasted the Barbary raid of 1544.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who come back tend to linger at the treasury, where Genoese silverwork — missals, chalices, ostensories — spans four centuries in a small room. The 16th-century choir table depicting San Siro alongside Peter, Paul, John the Baptist and Romulus is easy to walk past; don't. It rewards a slow look.
The story behind Cattedrale di San Siro
A church has stood on this site since 811, when tradition records Bishop Siro of Genoa celebrating Mass here. The current structure was built by the Maestri Comacini, the itinerant master builders of northern Italy, with documented records from 1143 and construction running through 1254. Elevated to an Insigne Collegiata in 1530, it was raided by Khayr al-Din Barbarossa's corsairs in 1544 — the altar destroyed, valuables hidden in time.
The building absorbed further damage in 1745 when an English naval bombardment under Admiral Rowley partially collapsed the roof and façade. Eight years later, the bell 'Bacì' was rung to call citizens to revolt against Genoa; the campanile was demolished in reprisal and the bell carried off, returned in fragments in 1784. Between 1901 and 1948, a major restoration stripped away Baroque overlays and recovered the Romanesque character visible today.
Good to know
The cathedral is on Piazza San Siro in the historic center, walkable from Sanremo FS station on the Genoa–Ventimiglia line. Entry is typically free. Hours are genuinely unpredictable — reports of Sunday closures exist — so contact the local tourist office before making it your first stop of the day.
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What travellers say about Cattedrale di San Siro
I spend a little time here and listened to a few minutes of the service, even tho i couldn't understand what was said. I did enjoy the building and paintings.
Great drink and snack
It's a very old and beautiful chatedral.
I have to say that as Italian cathedrals go, this one was rather disappointing as the interior, though well kept and lovely paintings, was rather plain in comparison to those visited in Venice. It's size and desogn also meant that it appeared more like a large church rather than it's cathedral status. Some of the other churches in Sanremo were of equal merit if not more so.
A nice church in roman style, but not a lot to see inside
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