Information

Genova: general information¹

It is difficult to describe Genova without referring to the sea, so close and so important for the history and evolution of the city.

The history of Genova, right from its pre-Roman origins (V century B.C.) is an incessant adventure whose leading roles are played by the sea and the city. Genvoa – which was already a lively commercial centre of the Phoenicians and the Greeks, confederated by Rome (from the II century B.C.), and following that Lombard and then Byzantine garrison and imperial Carolingian fortress – participating in the Crusades, Genova expanded in the Mediterranean and in Asia Minor, where commercial garrisons and new cites were created. In this way Genova became one of the 4 Maritime Republics (the others were: Venezia, Pisa and Amalfi) that governed the traffic and the development of the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
The government of the Maritime Republic in its most mature form was the dogeate. The doges of Genova elected every two years, belonged to the big families that were the main protagonists of the financial and commercial enterprises.
The technical/political/financial alliance between Andrea Doria, the most important and famous Genovese noble, and Carlo V d’Asburgo, Emperor of Spain, opened Genova’s “Golden Century”: a long period characterised by the extraordinary rush by the Genovese people towards financial investments all over Europe. The following events in the European “chessboard” and in the world scenario reflected upon the “Serenissima Repubblica” (in 1815 part of the Sardenian kingdom) which continued to resolve through the Risorgimento, until the unification of Italy.

In the years of industrialisation, Genova became the Italian capital of the iron and steel industry and one of the main centres for heavy mechanics, shipbuilding and petrochemistry, as well as one of the most important ports in the Mediterranean. Today the city is living a post-industrial phase characterised by great transformations that led the city to become the European Culture Capital in 2004

The “new economy”, born in the shadow of the big industrial planning and financial enterprises, and fed by a lively and productive university with 11 prestigious faculties, is assuming an increasingly important role. Another activity in a strong growth phase is the industry of tourism and leisure time. Genova is “discovered” each year by more that 1 million people: tourists, members of congresses and business men visit the famous aquarium, the opera theatre, the museums, the historic centre and appreciate the cultural and landscape features, the cuisine, and the lifestyle offered by this city, homeland to Christopher Columbus.

The port and the connected transport and logistical services are historically the city’s oldest and most consolidated activities.
Each year about 54.183.747 tonnes of goods are moved. The containers were as many as 1.657.113 TEUS (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) and more than 5.751.762 passengers travel on the ferries and cruise ships.

Among the urban developments that are notably modifying the features and functions of the city, the restructuring of the ancient port through a project by Renzo Piano, which thanks to careful restorations and targeted recovery actions, has managed to meld ancient and modern by transforming a degraded area into a magnificent multifunctional complex. 

Also thanks to this important evolution the ancient port is at this point unanimously recognised as the heart of the city.
In this area one finds: the Aquarium where seals, dolphins, penguins, sharks many species of fish live; the City of the Children, and immense space dedicated to the smallest of people where they can play and learn at the same time; the Galata Sea Museum the largest maritime museum in the Mediterranean, designed to tell the story of Genova’s naval ship yards and the stories of the great sea explorers (Christopher Columbus above all).

In order to fully understand the history and daily life of the city one cannot leave out the characteristic laneways of the historical centre, a fascinating tangle of small streets that run towards the sea. 
There are also numerous historical palaces (many of them today are museums) which adorn the principal city squares. Among the most important are the Palazzo Ducale, the ancient seat of government, today one of the most important exhibition areas and the Genova cultural centre; and the Palazzi dei Rolli, a circuit of sumptuous historical palaces which became World Heritage and where the city’s important artworks are conserved (paintings by Caravaggio, Rubens, and Tiziano).

(1) : Elaboration of data and information taken from www.comune.genova.it; www.apt.genova.it; www.wikipedia.it

WHAT THER IS TO SEE IN GENOVA

Genova is a city of contrast where one step is enough to pass from vestiges of an anchient and glorious past to the audacious symbols of the new Genova that is open to the future.
If one arrives by sea, the impact is spectacular: Genova offers travellers a view of all her majesty. Se si arriva  dal mare, l’impatto è spettacolare: Genova si offre alla vista del viaggiatore in tutta la sua maestà. Carefully placed on the egded of the sea it is seen to extend clinging to its hills creating a truely unique scene.
The same ancient port holds the city of yesterday and the city of today in a harmony of striking forms and colours. It is custodian of ancient symbols, such as the lantern and the admirable perspective on the antique palaces of the Ripa Maris along with the audacious and very modern ones such as the Bigo and the Bolla di Renzo Piano, the structure of the aquarium and the cotton warehouses, and the Galata Sea Museum, to name just a few.
Today, the historic centre is finally reliving the magnificence of its ancient splendour, after years of abandon. All of the areas that just a few years ago were neglected, today have been restored and given back to the city: The Doge’s Palace, the Rolli Palaces, and UNESCO World Heretige Site, Via Garibaldi or “Strada Nuova”.
That which is displayed to the eyes of visitors today is truly a city that has regained possession of its antique title of “Superba”.
One cannot forget the numerous Historic Villas set in striking parks: from Villa Pallavicini a Pegli with its collection of antique camellias to the parks “di Nervi” with their luxuriant rose beds.
That’s right, because Genova, city of the sea, is also a city of parks and gardens which take us up to the mountains from which the view over the city and over the horizon is simply splendid: here one can visit and get to know the city wall, the forts among which Fort Sperone, host to summer shows.
In short, Genova offers itineraries for all tastes: it offers the possibility to go on excursions immersed in history and nature, it offers actual “immersions” in history through the labyrinth of streets in the Historic centre, it gifts the discovery of real treasures: millennial churches and cloisters.
Genova boasts a rich museum heritage or real excellence, and it is even possible to follow itineraries touched by great artists, writers and poets reliving their suggestive impressions, event the slopes that from the sea lead up to the hills, the antique “creuse” can be the destination for a nothing less than fascinating itinerary.
Genova, city of illustrious personalities such as Christopher Columbus, Giuseppe Mazzini, Nicolò Paganini, Fabrizio De Andrè, Renzo Piano and  Lele Luzzati is truly a city of a thousand surprises and surely a place in which a stay is bound to be extremely pleasant and interesting.