Read all of JOY DODDS’ previous Mediterranean Musings – from Italy to Spain and France, and including gastronomic delights …
Genova (Genoa), capital of Liguria and known as “La Superba”, emits an attractive rough-edged vibe, the streets of the old town marked by streetwalkers and sailors. Its port is the heart of this seafaring city and the basis of its wealth and power, and harking back to its medieval days is the Lanterna lighthouse to be found near the Stazione Marittima.
Backed by steep mountain slopes, Italy’s most important commercial seaport sprawls out from a fascinating, labyrinthine old quarter bounded by Porta dei Vacca on the waterfront, the vias Garibaldi, Cairoli and XXV Aprile, as well as the impressive Porta Soprana. The precinct is said to be the largest medieval quarter in Europe.
Frescoed palazzi dot the old town, known as the Caruggi district, perhaps the most impressive being Palazzi dei Rolli, an amalgam of some 42 palaces that were once the homes of royal and noble families. Today the rather grand former home of the Royal Family of Savoy, the 17th century Palazzo Reale, is a museum which includes a fascinating throne room and Hall of Mirrors. Palazzo Bianco in Via Garibaldi, among other fine 16th century mansions, contains the city’s finest collection of paintings including those by Veronese, Van Dyke and Rubens, among others.
Genoa’s duomo, San Lorenzo, features a stunning black and white striped marble exterior – a masterpiece! Inside is the Museo del Tesoro di San Lorenzo which houses such treasures as a dish said to be used at the Last Supper, and the blue plate that carried the head of John the Baptist to Salome – hmmmmm. Palazzo Reale, on vias Balbi and Garibaldi, is a stunning mansion that’s been turned into a museum with a collection of art and furniture from Genoa’s sea exploration era.
Fortress Boccadasse
Teatro Carlo Felice, one of Italy’s top historic opera houses, attracts musical devotees from around the world, while on another musical level, Genova hosts a jazz festival in July. The National Gallery in the Palazzo Spinola with its frescoed ceilings features original furnishings from the 16th-18th centuries as well as an excellent collection of art.
About 80 Rolli palaces were built in the 16th century, when Genoa was one of Italy’s four great maritime republics. Many of them were restored in 2004 and can be found on the pedestrian section of Via Garibaldi. One, the 16th-century Palazzo Bianco, houses a great collection of paintings by Genoese and other European artists. It is little wonder that Genoa’s Baroque and Renaissance Rolli Palaces are now on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
There are countless other attractions to be enjoyed in Genoa including Christopher Columbus’ ivy-clad house which can be seen near Porta Soprana, on the city’s ancient walls and the eastern gateway to the city. A huge statue of the explorer stands outside Porta Principe rail station.
Genova city fountain
The aquarium, built in 1992 for Expo, is Europe’s second largest. For a scenic bonanza, take the funicular up to the Church of Sant’Anna or the elevator up the hill to Piazza Castello., from which there are fabulous views over the port and city to be enjoyed.
The historic regatta, one of Italy’s most exciting, is held the first weekend in June every fourth year. Boatmen from the ancient maritime republics of Amalfi, Genova, Pisa, and Venezia compete (the festival rotates amongst these cities). The statue of “Christ of the Depths”, located underwater at the bay’s entrance, is celebrated at the end of July with a Mass, the illumination of the reefs and a line of underwater torches to show the way to the statue.
However, a Genovese sojourn is certainly not all about art and architecture. After all, the city is the Home of Pesto and Foccacia, best enjoyed with a crisp Ligurian wine! The more northern variety of Genovese focaccia, known as Focaccia Novese, is baked in the nearby towns of Novi Ligure and Ovada. The local pasta, called pansotti, is filled with spinach and eggs as well as disparate ingredients including thyme, cocoa and wild herbs, and presented with a walnut sauce.
You certainly won’t starve in Genoa. Famed cook Elizabeth David hailed Genovese cucina and called the local food markets “the noisiest on Earth”. Apart from pesto, prepared with local basil, pine nuts, garlic and parmigiano cheese and usually served over trenette or trofia pasta cooked with potatoes and green beans, there are countless other local specialties. Cima alla Genovese is veal breast stuffed with organ meats, herbs, vegetables and pine nuts, served cold.
Being a port city, you’ll also find tasty seafood dishes such as the hearty fish stew, Buridda and Taglierini in sugo di Acciughe, or pasta with fresh anchovies. Anchovies and swordfish are also stuffed with capers for a variation on a theme. Grilled fish with pesto is another favourite. Fish such as sea bass is prepared with unusual accompaniments such as beans and rosemary, or a famous local green sauce called “capon magro”.
Ligurian wines include those from Riviera Ligure di Ponente DOC, including Dolcetto, Rossese and Vermentino.
Not far from Genoa’s centre along the seafront Corso Italia is the romantic fishing village of Boccadasse often referred to as a little taste of Cinque Terre in Genoa. Some 8kms to the south is Nervi, from where Garibaldi and his famous “Thousand” volunteers departed for Sicily and the Italian revolution. Further south on the Golfo Paradiso is the fishing village of Camogli which means ‘house of wives’ because the women ran the village whilst their fishermen were at sea. Camogli sits on a pebbly beach surrounded by pastel coloured multi-storeyed houses featuring the local artistic specialty, trompe d’oeil, which means “trick of eye”, based on the fashion to paint a three-dimensional art on normally plain house walls.
Genova is beautiful, undoubtedly, but something more superb is to be found just around the corner – Portofino and its neighbour, Santa Marguerita.
