Province of Genoa

The Province of Genoa (It. Provincia di Genova) is a province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Genoa. It has an area of 1,838 km², and a total population of about 900,000 (2009). There are 67 communes in the province (source: Italian institute of statistics Istat, see this link). Named after a mythical two-headed Greek God, Janus, protector of ships. The name derives from a Ligurian tribal word, for "knee" (genu), or the Latin name for gate, "janua". The city is set at the foot of mountains in the Gulf of Genoa at the most northerly end of the Tyrrhenian Sea, where at one time it ruled the maritime world. Genoa has fine examples of Baroque Church and Palace architecture.