This large 19th-century park belonging to Villa Pallavicini extends over one of the hills behind Pegli, and creates a green lung for this western district that was once a renowned spa popular with the European aristocracy. Architect Michele Canzio, chief stage-designer at Genoa’s Carlo Felice Opera House, designed this garden with the aim of making it look like a theatre set, according to philosophical principles meant to bring man and nature closer together. Despite great difficulties with up-keep and maintenance and despite the fact that part of it is closed off, Parco di Villa Pallavicini is one of the most fascinating examples of Romantic-style parks in Italy. Those parts of the park that are indeed open to the public showcase their beauty to visitors who stroll along the wide paths among tall trees, exotic plants, ornamental waterworks, lakes, grottoes, varied scenes and buildings in different styles, ranging from the neo-classical to the neo-gothic. The park also features a Botanical Garden with rare and carnivorous plant species. Set within the grounds, Villa Pallavicini is home to the Museum of Ligurian Archaeology (Museo di Archeologia Ligure), where valuable specimens from Ligurian pre-historical to Roman times are exhibited.