The Cattedrale di S.Lorenzo and the Palazzo Ducale are two of the most significant buildings in Genoa and are linked to the Archivio di Stato by means of hanging bridges. The building was erected in 1581 as the Palazzetto Criminale, or as the predecessor to today’s prisons. The State Archives for the republic of Genoa were transferred in 1881 and is one of the oldest and important archives in the whole of Italy. A manuscript dating from 952 AD tells of property tax benefits that were granted to the monks of S. Siro by Teodolfo, the Bishop of Genoa.
