How to experience the hidden thousand souls of Genoa
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| Palazzo Tursi, seat of the Municipality of Genoa |
What is Genoa's genius loci? Which is the true spirit of the place?
I was asked this challenging question during a tourism conference. The reason why I define it as problematic lies in the fact there is not a univocal answer. The capital of Liguria - a.k.a. the Italian side of the Riviera - features a diversity of urban dimensions, both physical and emotional, that escape definitions.
Genoa's identity, in fact, is multifaceted:
- maritime republic that in 1284 beat rival Pisa during the Battle of the Meloria and went to war against Venice;
- international seafaring and financial marketplace, the seat of the first modern public bank (established in the 15th century) in the world;
- vertex of Italy's former industrial triangle on its way to a new start;
- connoisseur art city boasting one of the widest historical districts in Europe.
Just think of the centro storico: there, history reigns in a thousand carruggi (i.e. alleys) and on the façades of noble palazzi, in a kaleidoscope of architectonic styles, secluded, silent piazzette, slate roofs, votive niches, ancient speciality shops and sciamadde (i.e. frying shops), the providers of traditional street food to nibble as you explore the place. Baroque churches share spaces with miniature groceries, while national museums flank cheap stores filled with all sorts of goods.
As I was collecting my thoughts, the answer to the question flashed into my mind.
Crossroads. Genoa is a historical crossroads of trades, routes, people, cultures, and foods, a rather complex junction.
London’s Seven Dials on the Mediterranean, I beamed to my Anglo-Saxon interviewer, who asked me for local advice on how to explore the place.
Here is my open reply to his kind query, a tableau de bord inspired by my Saturday morning wanderings through the places in Genoa that make me feel good. No coincidence, it is my favourite itinerary from a professional point of view, too.
Dear Friend,
the most scenic way to discover Genoa is either from the sky or the sea: a cinemascope concoction of Middle Ages and 1930s déco skyscrapers frames the vastness of the port, where the Lanterna stands upright, as the eye gazes over a forest of bell towers and church domes towards the elegance of the eastern districts. High in the background, the city walls and fortresses protect the centre in a tight, watchful embrace. Poet Giorgio Caproni once defined Genoa as the city of uphill love. When I decide to go there, I will go to heaven taking the Castelletto lift: this was Caproni’s tribute to the verticality of Spianata Castelletto, the panoramic balcony of the Circonvallazione a Monte, connected to the city centre by challenging brick crêuze (ascents) as well as by a stunning art nouveau elevator.
It is no coincidence that my favourite starting point for the tour de la ville of this Mediterranean city is steep Salita San Matteo, the very heart of the Doria quarter, leading to the homonymous piazza, a fragment of history which embodies the dominion of this potent household over the city, especially after the feud over the rival Fieschi was won (1547).
Let us tread a few steps away: the Archbishop’s palace, the State Archive (the former Palazzetto Criminale) and the cathedral cloister propose a representation of religion and power. Here Genoa unveils daring overhead shortcut passages (fit for rapid escapes) that still connect the cathedral to Palazzo Ducale via a series of buildings. The cathedral of San Lorenzo boasts stunning two-coloured exteriors and an alternation of Romanic and Renaissance Gothic we will also find inside. The Museo del Tesoro is an underground treasure chest that houses the Sacro Catino (i.e. the Sacred Bowl), the green hexagonal vessel that late-13th-century historian Jacopo da Varagine identified with the Holy Grail.
From Piazza Matteotti, we enter the primordial nucleus of the city, the Castello hill, where cautious and belligerent Etruscan-Ligurian tribes settled in the proto-history age – the name Genova probably derives from Kainua, i.e. new town. However, the vocation for business soon overcame cautiousness (Genuensis, ergo mercator), and the settlement spread towards the sea and the inlet of the Mandraccio. Miss-nots abound in the immediate surroundings: the complex of Santa Maria di Castello, a gem of frescoed cloisters; the area of Sarzano, which hosts the Museum of Ligurian Sculpture and Architecture and the Faculty of Architecture; Porta Soprana, an imposing door belonging to the early medieval walls and – last but not least – a maze-like network of carruggi with evocative names: Canneto, Ravecca, San Bernardo, Pollaioli. If, in Oscar Wilde’s words, you can resist everything except temptation, these tiny alleys will seduce you with myriad chocolate manufacturers, faïnotti and törtâe (traditional street food eateries) and grocers, a food map I am deeply acquainted with – by now I am sure you know my husband is a renowned food&wine expert who also designed the “tasting sheet of focaccia Genovese”.
On reaching the sea in Sottoripa (the porticoed Medieval ripa maris), we are steps away from Piazza Caricamento (i.e. loading), the icon of the import and export of the best goods in the world, traded by the Superba everywhere. Nobel poet Eugenio Montale defined Sottoripa as a village of ironwork and masts, saltiness overflowing from the docks: yet, the poem features a wistful vein that Sottoripa - polychromous, animated and ethnic - does not often display.
In front of us, the Porto Antico, a (literally) re-born waterfront, stemmed out of the architectonical vision conceived by Renzo Piano on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of New World (1992). Extensive restoration included the astounding Commenda di Prè (a Medieval pilgrim hospital) and Palazzo San Giorgio. Nowadays, visitors crowd the Acquario, the Galata Sea Museum, and the “Neptune” Galleon (the ship replica featured in Polanski’s “Pirates”) moored at Ponte Calvi. The whole area is rich in bars, restaurants and shops.
Close by, Piazza Banchi boasts the late 16th century Loggia della Mercanzia – the seat of the first city stock exchange – and the pleasant, small church of San Pietro, literally standing above shopping spaces whose sale financed the building of the devotion facility, a successful ante litteram example of project financing. From Piazza Banchi, we stride westwards via San Luca on to via del Campo and via Prè – an area loved (and sung) by songwriter Fabrizio de Andrè. We are in the former district of the Spinola household, and an unexpected détour is to take us to Palazzo Spinola di Pellicceria, the seat of the National Gallery, enriched with a cosy mirror gallery that will leave you speechless. A few meters away, ancient via della Maddalena is a must for the Genoese, who love its old deli shops and atmospheres.
We are just around the corner from both elegant Via Luccoli and via dei Macelli di Soziglia: the iconic Mediterranean alley rich in colours, scents and food shops of all kinds (from stockfish to rare coffee brews).
A rapid climb and there we are, in the grand enchantment of via Garibaldi, the 16th century Strada Aurea (i.e., golden street) that cast its spell on the likes of Pieter Paul Rubens (and many others). The outcome of yet another successful project financing initiative (planned after the dome of the cathedral went ravaged by fire), it presented the city’s high society with the opportunity to show off and relish the comfort of sumptuous dwellings outside the suffocating, claustrophobic spaces of the old centre (late 19th-century bourgeoisie similarly moved to the district of Castelletto). Nowadays, these palaces (Palazzo Bianco, Rosso, Tursi, Tobia Pallavicino) mainly host museums, institutions and banks. The attentive passerby can catch glimpses of their opulent halls, nymphaeums and stairways – the evidence of Genoa’s bygone financial power - when local bankers granted loans to European monarchs). To the west, via Garibaldi forms a continuum with the 18th century via Cairoli and the 17th century via Balbi. To the east, via Garibaldi reaches the oblong piazza Fontane Marose, connected through neoclassical via XXV Aprile to our next stop, piazza De Ferrari, the very heart of the city centre. Further on, ancient meets modern in the monumentality of Via XX Settembre, Piazza Dante and Piazza della Vittoria, designed by architect Marcello Piacentini like the aisle of a cathedral, closed to the north by the gardens of the Brignole railway station, to the south by a set of garden beds with flower caravels.
Piazza De Ferrari treasures Palazzo Ducale, a (mostly) 16th-century building that - in the last decades - has been brought back to its original splendour by careful restoration work. This seat of exhibitions, cultural events and brocantes markets features a double loggia and a magnificent stairway which leads up to the Saloni del Maggior and Minor Consiglio, the Doge’s apartments and chapel. These are the rooms where the senate gathered and presided over the destiny of the Republic. The most ancient section of the complex includes the medieval Loggia degli Abati, the palazzo del Capitano del Popolo and the Torre Grimaldina, which for centuries served as jail: there, according to local traditions, death row convicts had a last meal of tripes stew, served by sbirri (i.e. guards, cops), hence the name of the dish – trippe alla sbira.
It is high time to jump on a bus that will take us on a 15-minute ride to Boccadasse, a fishing village facing a tiny bay complete with pastel houses, fishing boats, sleepy cats, restaurants and ice cream parlours. There, we are to enjoy semifreddi (i.e. soft gelato), for sure coffee-flavoured pànera. And if we have enough time, we will head eastwards, past Quarto and Quinto al Mare, until we get to Nervi, a Belle Epoque tourist destination loved by the affluent society, who spent winter months amidst palm trees and Art Nouveau villas. A stunning seaside promenade starts from the marina and sides the parks of magnificent ancient dwellings, which house interesting modern art collections.
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