Genoa, Italy

Genoa - capital city of Liguria, historic maritime power player, birthplace of Christopher Columbus, origin of oily but addictive pesto. With so many claims to fame, there were plenty of reasons for our visit. However, the real purpose was practical in nature - we needed a launch-pad for travels down the Cinque Terre coast (see separate blog post). But it did not play second fiddle to some pretty coastal scenery. We had a great time over two days exploring the harbour, Old Town (one of the largest in Europe) and eating great local foods.



Day 1 - Arrival in Genoa
Picking up from where the Cinque Terre blog post finished off, ie. Sunday midday of the Easter Bank Holiday; we arrived by train into central Genoa for the second time. Our point of disembarkation was the Genova Piazza Principe station, next door to the port where the famous Lighthouse of Genoa is located. The Lighthouse (also known as the Lanterna) is the symbol of the city and is one of the oldest lighthouses in the world with the current tower constructed in 1543AD.

The Lighthouse of Genoa

Hotel Continental
Our accommodation for the night - Hotel Continental was located a short 100 metres away from the station. We chose this hotel on the basis of good reviews on TripAdvisor and to take advantage of the airport shuttle bus pick-up point in front of the station entrance. The receptionist at the hotel gave us a copy of the shuttle bus timetable and advised us that the times were all in relation to the first bus stop located in the city centre. Based on his local knowledge of Genoese traffic, he advised adding 10 minutes onto the printed times to predict when the bus would arrive; but also cautioned to be there earlier just in case the bus was not running to schedule and we might be able to catch a 'late arriving earlier scheduled' bus.

Entrance to the hotel

The Little Tourist Train 
Our hotel room overlooked the traffic island. This offered us scenic views and people watching enjoyment as many attempted to bypass the traffic lights and take on the challenge of dodging the on-coming cars. As we were getting ready to explore the Old Town and seek out a sightseeing tour, our attention was drawn to one side of the intersection where traffic was building up and many drivers were beeping their car horns.  A small yellow and blue tourist train had managed to jack-knife itself in the middle of the road whilst attempting a 3-point turn. The train had attempted to go down a side lane but illegally parked cars were blocking the route ahead. This meant that the train had no other option but to turn around and that is where it got stuck. The passengers were ordered out and some attempted to help the driver push the train out of the way. They were joined by three police cars and with many people supervising, the driver disconnected the engine carriage from a passenger one, straightened the angle, rejoined the parts and allowed the passengers back onboard to resume their tour.

This little train is going no where

Sightseeing Tour by Bus
We decided that a bus sightseeing tour might be more successful than taking the tourist train. The tourist bus terminal is located in the big carpark outside the Tourist Office near the Aquarium of Genoa and other tourist attractions. There are a number of different sightseeing bus operators in town and from multiple points along the street, it is likely you will be approached and asked if you would like to see the brochure or purchase a ticket. We chose the smaller bus as the larger CitySightseeing operator was full of cruise ship passengers. The English commentary was pre-recorded and you are given a set of disposable headphones when you board the bus.

All aboard the bus

Walls of Genoa
Parts of the old defensive walls that surrounded Genoa during medieval times, are still visible in the modern city. Our bus tour commenced with a narrow squeeze through the Old Town streets and passed Porta dei Vacca, one of the main gates set into the city wall built in 1156 AD when Genoa was under the attack of Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor.

Porta dei Vacca

The second surviving city gate - Porta Soprana was also visited as part of the tour. The gate towers are more impressive and form part of the city skyline.

Porta Soprana

Piazza De Ferrari
The tour looped through the heart of the city where the main square - Piazza De Ferrari is crowned with a large elegant fountain. The square is surrounded by many important government buildings and shopping districts.

View of Piazza de Ferrari

Close up of the fountain in the main square

Christopher Columbus House
The childhood home of Christopher Columbus, Genoa's most famous past resident, explorer and navigator; is located next to Porta Soprana. The home has been converted into a small museum with artifacts about his life.

Home of Christopher Columbus

Close up of the sign and flags

The bus tour also stopped by the Christopher Columbus monument that was located between our hotel and the Genova Piazza Principe station.

Monument to Christopher Columbus

History, Architecture and Monuments

City bus tours always provide a short summary of a city's history - sometimes we take notes, otherwise the content is supplemented by Wikipedia. Genoa has quite an interesting past. It was once an independent city state that tied itself up with wars against Venice; then after almost ruination due to the Black Plague it emerged as a satellite of the Spanish Empire and enjoyed its cultural peak. However this didn't last and after another plague epidemic killed half of the population, it was occupied by the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Further on it became a French Protectorate during the time of Napoleon and then incorporated (unwillingly) into Piedmont, part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. It also played a role in the formation of a unified Italy, being the location of where General Giuseppe Garibaldi commenced his conquest of Southern Italy in 1860. The city has a statue of the first King of Italy Victor Emanuel II in the Piazza Corvetto.

Statue of Victor Emanuel II

The influence of many ruling empires and trade links has perhaps inspired the interesting architecture within Genoa's Old Town. There are the painted walls and arches of church buildings with stout bell towers.

Painted building that is perhaps a church

In contrast, there is a Roman style triumphal arch at Victory Square, commemorating the soldiers that have died fighting in the various wars.

Victory Arch and War Memorial

We saw bank buildings decorated with animal skulls on the marble pediments.

Building with unusual animal skulls

Bank decorated with ram heads

As well as a number of lion statues, including the well known one outside the Saint Lorenzo Church that regularly poses for pictures with visitors and perhaps gets a few pats on the nose as this part of the statue looked particularly shiny.

Collage of lion statues

And more building adornments that were inspired by the Classical era.

Palazzi dei Rolli
So we concluded that the Genoese must be especially proud of their buildings to be covering them in elaborate decorations. In fact, UNESCO has recognized a group of palaces, Palazzi dei Rolli in the Old Town as part of the world heritage list.

The UNESCO plaque

Looking down Via Garibaldi

The palaces were homes of the aristocracy, classified according to their prestige and therefore the right to entertain visiting 'Principi' (the Pope, Emperor, King, Cardinals etc).

We walked passed a number of these palaces. Some are now used for financial institutions, whilst others are open to the public for a fee and are used to house art exhibitions.

Dinner - Ristorante SOHO

After a long day of sightseeing, we went back to the hotel and the receptionist suggested we head to the SOHO restaurant for dinner on Via Al Ponte Calvi. The restaurant is a seafood specialist, with a front counter that looks like a fish stall, you simply point out the fish or shellfish you would like to eat and how you want it cooked. The staff were also helpful with selecting wines to accompany the meal.

SOHO restaurant and terrace

Pesto, mussel pasta, grilled squid, grilled prawns

After dinner, we went for a quick walk around the harbour and saw some interesting artwork. However some of the areas were not well lit and so knowing travel safety 101 is not to walk outside of the tourist areas at night-time, we decided to head back to the hotel.

Interesting sculpture

Day 2 - Genoa Harbour

Our flight from Genoa back to London was quite early in the evening so we could avoid most of the bank holiday airport traffic. The weather also cleared up and after a pastry and coffee from a local cafe, we headed back to the harbour area with the intention of visiting the Aquarium, one of the largest in Europe. However, a long queue of more determined holiday makers had beaten us to it and we decided to go for a walk instead of waiting around. 

The Rodeo Drive of Genoa

The Harbour is also home to the Neptune, a replica of a 17th-century Spanish galleon that was built for Roman Polanski's film Pirates. 

Neptune, a replica of a 17th-century Spanish galleon

However, we were soon distracted in our walk by the presence of a lively international food market. There were cuisines from all around the world and although we usually try and eat 'local' when we are on our weekend travels; the German pop-up beer tent and Polish sausage grill tempted us too much for lunch.

The food market and amazing full hog porchetta

Cathedral of San Lorenzo

More walking was required to burn off lunch and we headed back to the heart of the Old Town, towards the Cathedral of San Lorenzo. The Cathedral has a very pretty interior and is best known to contain the ashes of John the Baptist (brought back from the First Crusade in 1098AD) and the Sacro Catino, considered to be the dish used by Jesus during the Last Supper.

Palazzo Ducale
The Doge's Palace is around the corner from the Cathedral and the Piazza De Ferrari. The day we visited, there was a small farmer's market outside and we were interviewed by a Genoese TV reporter who asked what we enjoyed about Genoa - of which we replied, the food and Old Town.

The small market outside Piazza Ducale

The Palace is now used to house community events and exhibitions, including this interesting sculpture of a pink metallic globe suspended 10 metres in the air.

The curiosity that is modern art

Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace)

On the way back to our hotel, we stopped by the Royal Palace - originally built by the aristocracy of Genoa, it was sold to the Royal House of Savoy in the 1800's and then given to the state. It houses an artwork collection and looks regal from a distance although slightly run-down up close.

Courtyard of Palazzo Reale

Trofie Pasta and Pesto

All too soon we were on our way back to the Cristoforo Colombo Airport, signaling the end of our Ligurian holiday. We picked up a jar of pesto and a packet of trofie pasta to eat later in the week to reminisce about this great holiday. 

Gourmet treats from Genoa

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