Genoa comes from the Latin janua - gate. What an attractive hypothesis, so redolent of mystery and promise! A gateway to the sea, to far horizons, exotic beaches, the fabulous markets of the Orient. A gate that also closes behind it a wealth of treasures: the arts, history, society and culture, the ordinary men and women who shaped the destiny of Genoa. Genoese, in a word at sea and on land, within and beyond the gate, a surly folk rooted in age-old traditions, loathe to parade their possessions, yet more than ready to render what they receive.
A reserved character, tempered by the scirocco and north wind, extraordinarily suited to developing a special sort of tourism-one that aims at preserving and enhancing an artistic and cultural heritage without selling out to commerce for mass consumption: on the facades of the palazzi, in the shady alleys, in the quarters where time, so far, hasn't worn away what man created . To savor an experience unique of its kind, just walk through the gate into Genoa "Superba", Genoa the proud, not through arrogance but by sheer majesty of image.
The atmosphere is evocative, the tone historical, redolent of things maritime: it is the old but "proud" part of Genoa that wears a big heart on its sleeve. Witness the winding alleys, the squares that suddenly open out the narrow spaces across which austere palaces have scrutinized one another over the centuries. To venture into the historical center is a gripping experience. You are impressed not only by the narrow streets and minute squares, but by the "illuminating" effect of mediaeval-Renaissance architecture co-existing with the strikingly up-to-date structures of an urban fabric in rapid development. Experiencing Genoa is a daily discovery of the tenacious bonds with the past: the master craftsman, custodian of an art that will perhaps remain heirless, works away in his shop next door to the designer of tomorrow's most sophisticated technology.
And the Port, commerce, industry. The "city" the worlds of tomorrow - provoking such questions as: why are the columns of the Cathedral all so different? Why have the statues of Palazzo Lercari had their ears and noses cut off?
To feel the presence of history in Genoa it is sufficient to take a stroll through the streets - from the "Soprana" and "dei Vacca" gates, vestiges of the city walls built in the 12th century, to the cathedral, which preserves the basin into which, it is said, fell the head of John the Baptist, to the ancient churches of Santi Cosma e Damiano, Santo Stefano (where Christopher Columbus was baptized) and San Matteo; from Palazzo San Giorgio (where Marco Polo dictated "ll Milione") to the Home of Columbus, to the Sant'Andrea cloister, the Loggia di Banchi, the Embriaci Tower.
A clear perception of what Genoa was like in the past can be had simply by walking along via Garibaldi, where Genoese families raised their town houses to princely elevation. During the Punic wars the city was an ally of Rome. In the Middle Ages it became a "Comune" (autonomous) and laid the foundations of a power that would reach its peak in the 13th and 14th centuries when Genoa controlled trade throughout the entire Mediterranean.
Since its very birth Genoa has always been a sea port. The harbor has always been a center of international commerce. Today, the Port has been built outwards as far as Voltri, where the new container terminals symbolize an economy that goes well beyond regional boundaries.
The city was actually founded around the natural harbor and continued to grow as a port, from a merchant emporium to a Maritime Republic dominating the whole of the Mediterranean, from Andrea Doria's naval base to today's passenger terminus.
Overlooking the cranes and mast-heads is the century old "Lanterna" Genoa's lighthouse and emblem, visible to all those who put in at the port, from whatever direction. It was built in the 16th century on the site of an existing tower. Fires were lit on top of it to signal the entrance to the harbor. The "scirocco" can still be felt at Caricamento, where redevelopment for the Expo uncovered the 14th century quay-side. The mediaeval porticoed water-front ("Sottoripa") still breathes a distinct mercantile air, evocative of the flourishing emporia of the past.
Genoa is a multi-colored city, changing not only with the sky but also from hour to hour. But black and white are the city's hallmarks. The white of the old patrician palaces and the black slate. Typical examples are San Lorenzo cathedral, the church of San Matteo, numerous villas, porticoes and cloisters. Black and white is somehow emblematic of the Genoese character. In book II of the Georgics, Virgil places the Ligurians midway between the Sabines and the Volsci: virile the former, martial the latter. Diodorus Siculus was struck by the physical strength of the Ligurians, whom he judged "as indomitable as they are proud" .
Many think the Genoese are just rather mean. Be this as it may, they gave generously to build new churches, foundations and institutes and were the first in Europe to create hospitals and homes for the poor. A recurrent paradox - black and white - in the city's history. Rendered cautious over the generations in a continual struggle with a beautiful but close-fisted mother nature, edged tightly between hill-top and water front, the Genoese have, in turn, rendered the fruits of their successes for the benefit of the city - but with a certain austerity, in black and white
Though Genoa is also known as the birthplace of Columbus, it was already, and continued to be long after, the birthplace of a noble race of navigators: from Antoniotto Usodimare (who reached the mouth of the Gambia in 1455) to the Vivaldi brothers (explorers of the West Coast of Africa), Lanzerotto Malocello, discoverer of the Canaries, and Nicolosio da Recco, discoverer of the Azores.
Christopher Columbus (born in Genoa in 1450/1) first sailed the Mediterranean and then, in 1492, set out on his historic enterprise. The discovery of the new world marked the beginning of the decline of the Mediterranean trade routes. However, thanks to the policy operated by Admiral Andrea Doria, Genoa managed to defend its international standing. For over a century, between 1500 and 1700, a group of brilliant, innovative bankers held the purse strings of all the European sovereigns. The fabulous riches that accumulated in this way were sagely invested in the palaces, churches and villas whose regal magnificence we admire today.
A century ago there were just under nine hundred sacred images of the Virgin Mary in the various quarters of the city. Recessed in the outer walls of houses, they were to be found in the alleys from San Teodoro to Maddalena, from Portoria to Molo and San Vincenzo.
Just look 3 or 4 metres up on the walls. These 2 small marble or stone statues, often adorned with necklaces made of precious metals, can still be admired today. Commissioned over the centuries by the Guilds as a mark of their religious faith, many of these "Madonnette" often had a distinctly popular style (some even wear aprons!). Most of them date from the 17th to 19th centuries, with a peak of creativity in the 18th. (Virginia Centurione Bracelli, founder of Nostra Signora del Rifugio, actually organized a maintenance service for all the "Madonnette" in Genoa's alley-ways).
Today little more than half of the number existing in the 19th century can still be seen. But what a spectacle! If you know where to look, if not, it is a veritable treasure hunt.
On seeing Genoa, Montesquieu, Dumas and Flaubert all described as a "city of marble": black and white the town houses of the aristocracy and merchants, colored and veined the various monuments. The distribution of marble works throughout Genoa (La Superba) reflects the strange mixture of parsimony, reserve and adventurous spirit in the make-up of the Genoese character.
It can still be seen today in the historical center. In fact, except for the homes of princes, the alternate bands of black and white marble are only to be seen up to the second floor. To carry on up to the roof would have been ostentatious. The job was finished with brickwork. The historian Giustiniani records that the building of houses entirely of marble had to be authorized by the Republic and was a privilege only granted to families who had "done something of outstanding value for the State".
Among the houses and churches in the historical center it is not difficult to pick out the donations made by "pirate-navigators" and merchants. On nearly every street corner you can see slate, the warm, yet resistant black stone of "home".
Over portals slate and marble tell the tale of family "triumphs". Three outstanding examples: piazza Pinelli, piazza della Lepre and vico dei Garibaldi.
The golden age of painting in Genoa was the 17th century, when the Genoese school was prominent in both Italy and the rest of Europe. This enormously important phenomenon was largely due to the influence of Flemish painters working in Genoa around the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. In the 16th century the "school" had assimilated the style of Raphael through Perin del Vaga, but it was the great Rubens and Van Dyck who shaped the revolution.
Rubens performed (and in some ways learned as he taught) in front of the magnificent palaces in the Strada Nuova (today's via Garibaldi) reproducing them for the eyes of the whole world. The mark left by Flemish brushes is indelible. Museums and churches in Genoa provide ample testimony of the Flemish influence on Castello, Biscaino, Benso and Piola, Ansaldo, the De Ferraris and Assereto. The golden age also included such names Carbone, Grechetto, Scorza, Vassallo, Travi ("Il Sestri"), Strozzi, Fiasella, Tavella, the Carlones. Though the Flemish school was predominant, others played major roles as well: the Spanish school (Tavarone, for example) and above all Caravaggio, with his revolutionary coloring and shading. A Caravaggio (Ecce Homo) was later found in Genoa and can now be seen in the Palazzo Rosso.
In the 18th century the leading Genoese painter was Alessandro Magnasco.
The epithet "superba" (proud) that the city has carried down through the centuries was first given by Francesco Petrarca. Writing of a visit to Genoa in 1358 the poet described the city, in Latin of course, as follows: "you will see a regal city on the side of a rugged hill, proud in its men folk and city walls The aspect of the place alone tells you the city is mistress of the seas".
Petrarch's highly effective portrait of the Genoese was passed from pen to pen over generations of visitors and travelers and became a common place (albeit unreliable as far as the Genoese character goes). The city merited the term "superba" (and still does to a certain extent) because, seen from the sea, it presents an extraordinary spectacle. Towers, palaces, churches do not look in on a harmonious urban center but out to sea. The whole city as on a stage, with the waves its auditorium. Superb, in fact.
Genoa has never made much show of her collections of art, culled from secret Mediterranean storehouses or in Flanders or Bourgogne. The city must be explored. Palaces were adorned with frescoes. The architecture, an exemplary late Renaissance, is majestic.
On the inside too, frescoes create harmony. Illustrious names abound.... Rubens, Van Dyck, Bernardo Strozzi and the key figures in the Ligurian school. From Piazza delle Fontane Marose, along via Luccoli to the Banco San Giorgio building, Genoa can be glimpsed in a simple shrine to the Madonna, or in an arched perspective of anonymous porticoes. Then the vision changes - the Cathedral - five hundred years of Gothic, from the 13th to the 17th centuries. If you zig-zag from Piazza Matteotti (Palazzo Ducale) to the church of Gesù (at least one Rubens) and San Donato (the octagonal bell-tower and a Flemish Adoration), to the tiled Cuspid of Sant'Agostino (new museum) and along "il Canneto" to the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria di Castello, it's easy to understand Genoa's reputation as a city of art . Just on the edge of the center is the recently restored "Commenda" of the Knights of the Order of St John. Nor should we forget the Romanesque abbey of San Siro di Struppa.
Though austere on the outside, Genoa's patrician houses were and still are luxurious on the inside: stucco and gilt, frescoes and hangings expressed their owners' power. Genoa was one of the first European cities to import fabrics and tapestries from the Orient. Later, the richer houses were embellished with furniture, silverware and fabric produced by the extremely talented local craftsmen.
Frescoes on the vaulted ceilings of Genoese salons borrowed from both mythology and local history to celebrate the feats of the owners and their families. Even today, villas and palaces still bear witness to an extraordinary era, nearly two whole centuries, with major Genoese painters such as Cambiaso, the Piolas, Tavarone, the De Ferraris, Guidobono and Strozzi. To get an idea of the heights reached by the decorative arts in Genoa, just look at the many churches (Annunziata, San Siro, Santa Croce) or the palaces open to the public (the Banco di Chiavari building and the Palazzo Rosso in via Garibaldi).
Genoa's houses were built of wood until the 13th century. And there was a public official, the "Cintraco" who went round the various quarters on days when there was a "kite wind", warning people of the risk of fire. Later, when houses were built of bricks, they rose to four or five storeys and the roofs were made of slate from Lavagna.
Then the mediaeval houses changed their appearance with Renaissance ornament, especially the portals that closed off the ground floor loggias to make public spaces private, to enliven courtyards and make entrance halls ring with familiar voices. The spirit of the 16th century culminated in the Strada Nuova, later via Aurea and finally via Garibaldi, one of the most splendid streets in Europe, with such austerely magnificent buildings as Palazzo Lercari, Palazzo Spinola, Palazzo Bianco, Palazzo Tursi-Doria (City Hall) and Palazzo Rosso. At the beginning of the 17th century the spectacle was repeated in the Strada Grande del Guastato (today's via Balbi). For Madame de Stael the buildings in this road were "fit for a congress of Kings". And in fact, they have just recently welcomed a very special tourist: Elizabeth II of England.
Genoa's enviable climate is largely due to the hills and mountains that shelter her. This made it possible for Genoese families to find holiday resorts close to the city and to build splendid country houses there. Some of these were fairly well known even before opening to the public, but the vast majority were a completely closed book, so that when they eventually became the property of the city, they were a great revelation even for the Genoese themselves.
Among the better known is the magnificent Villa Cambiaso, with its beautiful park and sports facilities, and Villa Gambaro, both in the Albaro quarter. At Nervi, Villa Serra which stands in one of Italy's finest parks, close by to Villa Luxoro and Villa Gropallo. Back in the centre, is Villa Imperiale at San Fruttuoso, Villetta Dinegro and Villa Croce.
Lastly, on the western side, Villa Durazzo Pallavicini (with its spectacular jeux d'eau), Villa Scassi at Sampierdarena, Villa Rossi at Sestri Ponente and Villa Duchessa di Galliera at Voltri, with its famous English style park .
Masterpieces by Rubens and Caravaggio, the exotic splendors of Oriental art, curios from the remotest corners of the globe. The discerning art lover will find Genoa's museums of extreme interest, and in some ways even unique. To begin with the best known and most copious, the galleries in Palazzo Rosso and Palazzo Bianco, the two historic buildings opposite one another on via Garibaldi (jewel of Renaissance urban development). Palazzo Rosso houses works by the major Genoese painters, as well as Van Dyck, Titian and Veronese. Palazzo Bianco pays splendid tribute to the city's international links in the 17th century with works by Genoese, Flemish and Dutch masters, including Cambiaso, Strozzi, Magnasco, Rubens, De Wael, Van Der Goes, Jan Metsys, Cranach, Teniers and Zurbaran.
Villetta Dinegro, standing on a slight rise above piazza Corvetto, has a recently built annex that houses one of the richest collections of Oriental art in Europe. Its 15,000 items span a thousand years of Japanese art, collected in the 19th century by Edoardo Chiossone (painter and director of the Japanese Mint) after whom the museum is named. Local history can be happily investigated in the "Museo del Tesoro di San Lorenzo" in the Cathedral crypt, where the architect Albini designed a special exhibition facility. Albini 's last work is the highly impressive Museum o Ligurian Sculpture and Architecture in the recently restored and restructured Sant'Agostino complex in Piazza Sarzano. For archaeologists there is the Museum of Archaeology (via Pallavicini, n. 11).
Another repository of local history is the Galleria di Palazzo Reale, in via Balbi . This valuable collection also features works by Van Dyck, Reni, Tintoretto and Guercino.
The Santa Maria di Castello Convent - with possibly the oldest church in Genoa - houses a museum with works by Brea and Maragliano. An absolute must for those visiting a city that was once one of the most powerful maritime republics in history is the Maritime Museum (Villa Doria, piazza Bonavino, n. 7). Here, a big collection of navigational instruments includes one of the four surviving astrolabes made by Ignatio Danti, the great 16th century cosmographer.
The Museo Americanistico Lunardi (Corso Solferino, n. 39) specializes in Pre-Columbian art and has the richest collection of Maya art in Europe.
Theatre-goers should visit the "Museo Biblioteca dell'Attore" on the site of a building left to the city by Adelaide Ristori (via IV Novembre,n. 4). To come back to Pre-Columbian civilizations, there is a Museum of Ethnology in the Castello D'Albertis (CorsoDogali,n. 18). Natural history enthusiasts should visit the Museo Giacomo Doria (via Brigata Liguria, n. 9).
To investigate the history of the city, its culture and tastes, there is no lack of material: the "Museo del Risorgimento" and the "Istituto Mazziniano" in the birthplace of G. Mazzini, founder of "Giovine Italia" (via Lomellini); the Galleria D'Arte Moderna in Villa Serra (via Capolungo), which offers an illuminating study of fin de siecle Genoa on the canvases of local artists; the museum in Villa Luxoro (set in a charming park in Nervi) boasts a fine collection of antique furnishings and objets d'art, as well as a picture gallery; the "Museo dell'Accademia Ligustica di Belle Arti" (Ligurian Fine Arts Museum), founded by a group of wealthy and enlightened Genoese in 1751, spans more than five centuries of figurative art in Genoa and Liguria up to the last century.
Special mention must be made of the National Gallery in Palazzo Spinola (Piazza Pellicceria). This aristocratic town house is perfectly preserved and contains a priceless collection of furnishings and paintings (Antonello da Messina, Van Cleve, Van Dyck) We should not forget the "Museo di Villa Croce", a visual arts centre of contemporary art, hosting important collections of abstract artists.
Genoa was built, as the poet Paul Valery observed, "in a continual struggle with the mountain". The centuries of work that produced today's city began in pre-historic times on the Castello hill, where the charming church of Santa Maria still stands. Genoa as we would recognize it first appeared in the 13th century. In the 19th century radical urban development gave Genoa a new center and extended the city beyond the outer walls. Industrialization favored a process of amalgamation, with the various suburbs ("delegazioni") being administratively joined in 1926 to form a Greater Genoa. A city with two souls, Genoa offers both unsuspected art treasures and one of Europe's most advanced, complex and comprehensive services structures.
In recent years urban development has redrawn the architectural geometry and managed to create spectacular effects without compromising Genoa's historic heritage. The Expo gave back the city her old harbor, now completely renovated, with the new convention center in the Cotton Warehouses forming a splendid centerpiece. One of the most advanced structures in Europe, this development follows similarly successful projects, including the Fiera del Mare congress facility, the World Trade Center and the Sant'Andrea abbey.
On the eve of 2000, Genoa is consolidating its reputation as a top meeting venue. For several reasons: apart from the enviable climatic, the location is well served by motorways and an airport and has excellent accommodation facilities including brand new hotels and country houses available for meetings and banquets. Further space has been found thanks to the brilliant restoration projects regarding Genoa's most illustrious monuments. In Piazza San Matteo, the church has been restored along with a number of Doria buildings, one of which is the venue to major exhibitions. Not far off is the huge mass of the Palazzo Ducale, which has been converted into a highly prestigious cultural "shell" for exhibitions, conventions and conferences.
Another conference facility is the auditorium in the recently rebuilt Carlo Felice Opera House, one of Italy's greatest theatres. Entertainment space has also been created in the towers of Corte Lambruschini, a new office development that, with San Benigno, represents a focal point of business interests in Genoa today.
To follow the valleys down to the sea is also to discover a wealth of art treasures in Genoa's hinterland, from the scattered villages of the Appenines to the numerous fishing villages along the coasts. A good place to start is Masone, with its Iron Working Museum, in the Stura valley. Campo Ligure has a Filigree Museum and a renovated castle which hosts exhibitions and other public events. Rossiglione is noted for its churches (Santa Caterina and Nostra Signora Assunta). The upper Orba valley, was under the "protection" of Tiglieto abbey for nearly 900 years and is now private property. Campomorone has a museum of paleontology and mineralogy in the 16th century Palazzo Balbi. Nearby, on Mt. Figogna is the Madonna della Guardia sanctuary.
The main center in the Scrivia valley is Busalla, with its richly verdant park and nympheum. On the banks of the Scrivia lies Ronco Scrivia, where there is a local history museum.
A few kilometres more is Isola del Cantone, with the outstanding Spinola-Mignacco castle. Another castle, "Pietra", stands over the river on the road to Vobbia At Crocefieschi, remains of the old Fieschi manor can still be seen. The Santa Croce parish church has paintings and wooden statues. At Savignone too the ruins of the feudal castle remain, together with the Baroque church. At Casella, paintings by G.Andrea Ferrari can be admired in the church of Santo Stefano. Beyond Montoggio (where the church has well-preserved paintings by the Genoa school) is Torriglia and the upper valley. Along Val Trebbia are Montebruno (Santuario della Madonna) and Fontanigorda (San Rocco chapel). Not to be missed are the ancient copper mine (10th cent.) and the rural culture museum. There is much to see on the coast too: the parish churches of Cogoleto and Arenzano, and not far, on a hill, the fascinating Santuario del Bambin Gesù di Praga. East of Genoa there are splendid Baroque churches at Bogliasco and Sori and the ancient church of San Michele at Pieve Ligure Alta. The nearby oratory contains wooden crucifixes of the Genoa school.
"Published by and reprinted with the kind permission of In Italy Online."
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