POCKET GUIDE to GENOA Quick Guide to Discover the City
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POCKET GUIDE TO GENOA quick guide to discover the city en 2-3 hours A FLEETING VISIT TO GENOA Four 100% Genoese settings, if you only have a couple of hours to spare Via Garibaldi, the power and Via del Campo, the singer- wealth of the “Siglo des los songwriters and the unique Genoveses” (the Century of the atmosphere of the alleyways Genoese) in the centro storico This is one of the finest “Via del Campo” is the title of one Renaissance streets in the of the moving ballads written and world. Its palazzi. known as the sung by Fabrizio De Andrè. “Rolli”, were splendid patrician Access to the street is from the Translation: homes which the owners were ancient Porta dei Vacca gate, then English Language Consultancy required to make available for have a look at the shop windows Justin Michael Rosenberg royalty and dignitaries visiting in Via San Luca until you reach Photographs: the Republic of Genoa. Piazza Banchi and Caricamento. Sagep Photographic Archives “Castelletto”, a window over “Passeggiata al Porto Antico”, Edited by the Municipality of Genoa, the old town waterfront promenade Tourism Development and Promotion dept. From the renowned “spianata di As you stroll along the old docks This edition was published Castelletto”, which is accessible and wharfs, the lighthouse and in December 2011 by Grafiche G7 by lift from Piazza Portello, you big cruise ships loom into view. for Sagep Editori S.r.l. - Genoa have spectacular views of the A ride on the “Bigo” panoramic centro storico extending all the lift gives you a new perspective © 2012 Sagep Editori, Genoa way to the sea. on the city and the Aquarium. ISBN 978-88-6373-163-7 POCKET GUIDE TO GENOA [Quick guide to discover the city] 2 NOT TO BE MISSED 4 GENOA, A SPECIAL CITY 6 [24 HOURS] PALAZZO SAN GIORGIO, VIA GARIBALDI, DARSENA 10 [48 HOURS] VILLA DEL PRINCIPE, CENTRO STORICO, CASTELLETTO 14 [3 DAYS] PORTO ANTICO, CORSO ITALIA AND BOCCADASSE 18 [7 DAYS] TOWN CENTRE, WEST COAST, EAST COAST AND THE HILLS 24 MUSEUMS AND THE PALAZZI DEI ROLLI OPERA, THEATRE AND CINEMA FOOD & WINE SHOPPING GENOA BY NIGHT CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS 9 8 hours 24 hours 48 7 7Days 5 6 4 1 3 3Days 2 10 ǟ Pegli Nervi and Boccadasse ǟ Not to be missed 6 Via Garibaldi Not to be missed - outskirts 1 Palazzo Ducale and Strada Nuova Museums Borgo di Boccadasse walking routes 2 Columbus’s house and Porta Soprana 7 Galata Museo del Mare Park and museums in Nervi lifts 3 Cattedrale di San Lorenzo 8 Palazzo Reale Promenade A. Garibaldi in Nervi 4 Porto Antico and the Aquarium 9 Villa del Principe Villa Pallavicini in Pegli boat trips 5 Museo d’Arte Orientale 10 Lanterna Staglieno Monumental Cemetery “E. Chiossone” by night 2 POCKET GUIDE TO GENOA 3 left: view of the city from Spianata Castelletto, shops in Sottoripa, SS. Annunziata church fresco GENOA, A SPECIAL CITY Genoa has always been the master extraordinary navigators and of its own destiny. merchant bankers who financed the Allied with the ancient Romans mighty Spanish empire ruled by against Carthage, Genoa was Charles V. A stroll down Via Genoa is a city of contrasts, core of the old town. sacked and burnt by Hannibal’s Garibaldi will remind you very much sometimes of extremes. It is a city of contrasts in terms of the brother, Magone. of this past grandeur. A city of surprises. For example, it is colours: the pastel shades of the This tragedy has left its mark on Genoa also played a vital role in the a city of art yet it is also an industrial facades side by side with grey and collective Genoese consciousness Risorgimento with Mazzini, Mameli centre. black slate. and is reflected in the local dialect: and many others. Garibaldi’s Mille, It has Italy’s largest port but nearby It is a city that has always been a “avere il magone” (u magun) means the 1000-strong expedition to annex there are crowded beaches in Corso crossroads of cultures and peoples. to fall into a state of depression. Sicily, left from a rock in the suburb of Italia; glass skyscrapers stand Genoa is also an impervious and The city began its great era of Quarto. alongside medieval towers, modern solitary city. A place that takes time expansion in the year 1000 and In the 20th century Genoa developed offices are located in former palaces to appreciate but then grows on became a powerful maritime into a large modern port and that are still largely intact. you and rewards you with one republic whose commercial became a major industrial city for It is a “vertical” city on account of thrilling discovery after another. influence and military dominion Northern Italy. Today, it is a centre of the height of the buildings and the Genoa’s history dates back 26 extended over much of the technological innovation and high lack of space in the warren of tiny centuries and legend has it that it Mediterranean, with settlements as added value service industries as alleyways (caruggi) and narrow was founded by Janus, the two- far away as the Black Sea. well as a place attracting ever- cobbled paths (creuze) leading faced deity that presided over Under Andrea Doria, who became increasing numbers of visitors. uphill and away from the coast. gates and doorways. Indeed, Priore Perpetuo in 1528, the Genoa was “European Capital of It is a city of contrasts also in terms Genoa has always been a Republic of Genoa reached the Culture” in 2004 and in 2006 its of the light: dazzling when looking “gateway” to civilisation, linking height of its power: this was the system of “Palazzi dei Rolli e delle out to sea from Castelletto or Righi, East and West, the Mediterranean beginning of the “Century of the Strade Nuove” was declared part of dark and slightly threatening in the and Europe. Genoese” – rich traders, the UNESCO World Heritage List. 4 POCKET GUIDE TO GENOA GENOA, A SPECIAL CITY 5 left: view of the old town, Piazza De Ferrari, San Lorenzo Cathedral below: Palazzo Ducale including eateries selling fried food PALAZZO SAN GIORGIO, Worth a visit and focaccia. VIA GARIBALDI, DARSENA PALAZZO DUCALE It’s not far from here to the start of This is the cultural, historical and [2] Via San Lorenzo, which links the monumental heart of the city. Built at the e l Porto Antico area to Piazza De a o c behest of the government of the Republic at z u eo n Ferrari, the main square of the city. D tt e a th r a o the end of the 16 century, it has a medieval o z en M L Halfway up the street lies the majestic z s a r n l n part – as you look at the facade from Piazza a a a a XXV Aprile Via Garibaldi cathedral, a masterpiece of Gothic art S Fontane Marose D San Giorgio P Cairoli S Casana Matteotti the Grimaldina stone and bricks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 built on a pre-existing Romanesque tower is readily apparent on the left – and structure with black and white stone a central section with the two broad If you are just spending the The route starts at [1] Palazzo San stripes. Inside is the treasure of San colonnades that were added around the turn Giorgio next to the sea and the Porto Lorenzo and the “Sacro Catino”, said one day in Genoa we suggest of the 16th century. In the 18th century the Antico. The Palazzo, which is now the by some to be the Holy Grail. the following walking route palazzo was rebuilt following a fire. The most premises of the Port Authority, was Via San Lorenzo leads to Piazza noteworthy interiors from the artistic point through the city centre, originally the headquarters of the Matteotti, where the landmark is the of view are the chapel and the assembly including in the main Casa di San Giorgio, a syndicate set imposing neoclassical façade of halls for the Greater and Lesser Councils, up to finance the Republic. It [3] Palazzo Ducale , the historic attractions of Genoese art, which are richly decorated and frescoed. comprises the 13th century medieval headquarters of the doges and now history and culture. structure and a Renaissance part with the city’s dynamic cultural centre. a splendid frescoed façade facing the Nearby, the Church of Gesù in Piazza sea. The figure of St George slaying Matteotti contains paintings by the dragon stands out in the centre. Rubens and Guido Reni. Head from the medieval palazzo to Piazza De Ferrari with its large Sottoripa, the old porticoed street fountain is the symbolic heart of the with picturesque shops of all kinds, city. If you look around the square 6 POCKET GUIDE TO GENOA GENOA IN 24 HOURS 7 left: Palazzo Spinola dei Marmi, Church of San Matteo, Palazzo Tursi below: Palazzo Tobia Pallavicino, Golden Gallery you’ll see the former premises of building opened in 1828, the first make available for royalty and Worth a visit Compagnia di Navigazione Italia, opera performed being “Bianca e dignitaries visiting the Republic. The VIA GARIBALDI now the seat of the Ligurian Regional Fernando”, composed by Bellini “Rolli” were declared a UNESCO Once called Strada Nuova and Via Aurea Administration, and the Palazzo della specially for the occasion. The World Heritage Site in 2006. (Golden Street) on account of its splendid Borsa (the former stock exchange), theatre was badly damaged by Three palaces on Via Garabaldi – showpiece palazzi, this street is one of the now used as a venue for cultural bombing during World War II and Palazzo Tursi, Palazzo Rosso and most impressive examples of 16th century events.