Basilica della Santissima Annunziata del Vastato

The Basilica della Santissima Annunziata del Vastato is a prominent Roman Catholic church of Genoa, northern Italy; its decoration employed the major baroque studios and artists in Genoa in the 17th century. It is named Vastato because the area where it was built was outside the walls of the city, in an area where houses had been demolished (devastated) for defensive reasons. In Latin, vastinium referred to a safety belt within the protective bastions.