Commenda di San Giovanni di Prè

Founded in 1180 by the Knights Hospitaller (the Order of Saint John, later known as the Knights of Malta), this waterfront complex was designed as an all-in-one staging post for maritime traffic to the Holy Land. The building was ingeniously split into two functional tiers: the vaulted ground floor served as a 40-bed hospital and hostel for poor pilgrims, sick travelers, and wounded soldiers; the upper floor featured a private church reserved exclusively for the noble knights. In 2022, following extensive architectural restoration, the complex reopened as the MEI (Museo Nazionale dell'Emigrazione Italiana), a high-tech museum chronicling the emotional stories of millions of Italian emigrants who departed from Genoa's harbor for the Americas.