The building that once housed one of the world's oldest banks — the Casa di San Giorgio, founded in 1407 — is also the place where Marco Polo dictated his travels while imprisoned after the Battle of Curzola. The facade that faces the old port is covered in frescoes: a series of notable Genoese figures, repainted several times but continuous since the medieval period.
The building is open for guided visits and houses a small museum of the Bank of San Giorgio, whose financial innovations (the first public institution to issue negotiable debt, among other firsts) shaped European banking for centuries. The exterior is striking from the port; the interior rewarding for those interested in financial and political history.