The Villa Gropallo was built in the second half of the 18th century and named after its first owner, Marquis Gaetano Gropallo. It is a beautiful building with rooms in different styles with the addition of an unusual Moorish-style bay window on the inside and rich wrought-iron canopies on the outside. Long the country residence of the Gropallo family even in the mid-19th century, the Villa was surrounded by an extensive English-style garden that, before the construction of the railway, reached as far as the sea. Purchased by the Municipality of Genoa in 1927, it was initially used as the headquarters of the Azienda di Soggiorno and the Circolo dei Forestieri (Foreigners' Club), while it currently houses the 'V. Brocchi' Municipal Library and the local Carabinieri Station. Over time, the building has hosted many famous people in the fields of art and literature, including Gabriele D'Annunzio and Eleonora Duse. The park was radically renovated by Marquis Gropallo in the early 19th century when olive trees, vines and citrus fruits were replaced by palms, Lebanese cedars and other exotic plants. Attractions of the park even today are the vast bright lawn in front of the Villa flanked by the sclerophyll avenue that suggests, with the ancient holm oaks (Quercus ilex), the ambience of a shady forest. Not far away, one can see the avenue of palm trees which, rare and exotic in the 19th century, were the pride of the Gropallo family and much envied by guests. Among the most interesting arboreal specimens are eucalypts with pendulous leaves and flaky bark (Eucaliptus globulus); a majestic phytolacca (Phytolacca dionica); among the palms, the imposing and curious jubea (Jubaea spectabilis) and the araucaria (Araucaria bidwilli), whose fruits can weigh up to five kilograms; the cycas (Cycas revoluta), which look like palms but are close to conifers, true living fossils.