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A diverse, wealthy city- the port brings in trade and
 A port filled with things to do and see |
Ponte Spinola Area Porto Antico Genoa 16128 Italy |
The layout of the whole area and the various architectural constructions in the Old Port, among which is the now famous Aquarium which was built by Renzo Piano for the international Expo of 1992 in commemoration of the 5th centenary of the discovery of America, have now become a perfect example of the coexistence of old buildings and modern edifices. The salvaging and refurbishment of the historic port and of the old town centre nearby, have all helped in the re-establishment of the tourist trade within the city. The new "marinaro" area is constantly brought to life through sound, light and color and has various attractions dedicated to free time and culture. Therefore, Genoa is no longer solely a city of art, but also a seaside town offering child-size fun and relaxation. If one enters from the main entrance in piazza Caricamento, the first thing to be seen is the large profile of the Acquario di Genova, the largest one in Europe, which resembles a large ship moored on the dock at Ponte Spinola, from which extends a splendid pathway, the Via del Mare, which leads straight to the "floating" Piazza del Mare. Other places of interest are the Galleon (used by Roman Polansky in the film "the Pirates"), the buildings of the Cotton Stores (Cineplex, modern multiscreen, Cinemotion in 3 D, Video games, the great Music Store, the Città dei Bambini, la De Amicis Library, the Padiglione del Mare e della Navigazione), the original Museo Nazionale dell'Antartide "Felice Ippolito", housed in the Millo, and even the imposing Porta Siberia (o del Molo), with the nearby pool-theatre, the Mandraccio and various commercial outlets, as well as the cafés and the restaurants. During the winter months the Piazza delle Feste has an ice-skating rink, while during the summer various concerts and plays are held there. A must is a trip on the Bigo, the rotating panoramic lift which offers a view over the entire city. The 16th and 17th century buildings of the Deposito Franco have been carefully restored and are now the headquarters for Porto Antico S.p.A, the management and operating company for the whole complex. They also house the Tourist Information Office, where one can obtain up to the minute news of events being organized within the area where the expo was once held. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Rachael&Andrew |
 Photo: Fabrizio Fazzari |
 Photo: Mia aiM |
 Photo: Ciccio Pizzettaro  |
 Photo: Luca Caridà |
 Photo: Yonker |
 Photo: James Manners |
 Photo: Luca - Italy |
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A piazza in a theatre |
Passo E. Montale, 4 Genoa 16121 Italy +39 10 5 3811 http://www.carlofelice.it cfrelest@tin.it |
Built between 1826 and 1831, designed by the architect Carlo Barabino, it is an example of the traditional Italian horseshoe shaped, development. It has a capacity of 2,000. It was badly damaged by bombing in the Second World War, and almost completely rebuilt at the beginning of the 1990's by the architects I. Gardella and A. Rossi. The original neo-classical features of the pronaus and the portico were incorporated into the new building, whose imposing triangular tower, visible from many parts of the city, hides a sophisticated scenic mechanism which places this theatre among the most advanced in Italy. It has provoked both great amazement and furore among the Genovese on account of the internal design, including balconies, shutters and slate coverings, as if it were several houses in the historic centre facing onto a typical Ligurian piazza. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: carolina1954 |
 Photo: Danilo Paissan |
 Photo: terralance |
 Japanese art |
Piazzale Mazzini, 1 Genoa 16122 Italy museicivici@comune.genova.it |
The building which houses this museum was built specifically by the architect Mario Labò in 1971. It stands in a splendid panoramic position inside the Parco di Villetta di Negro. This is the most important Italian collection of its kind, and it includes almost 15,000 items. The collection was put together by the engraver and patron Edoardo Chiossone during his 23 years in Japan. While there he witnessed the fall of the feudal regime after 700 years of rule and the start of the process of the modernisation of the country. With an unusual amount of attention for that period he began to study and eventually acquist many works of art, accumulating a huge collection of historically and artistically valuable works of art. The exhibition, which is probably visited more by Japanese tourists than the Genoese, is displayed in two large rooms dedicated to Buddhist sculpture from Eastern Asia and in five galleries linked by stairs forming a contiuous path. On exhibition you can see armour, weapons, Samurai equipment, archeological finds from Japan, wooden sculptures, theatre masks, varnishes, ceramics, porcellain, paintings, and prints. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: wcities |
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The Doge's former residence |
Piazza Matteotti, 5 Genoa 16123 Italy +39 10 557 4000 http://www.palazzoducale.genov... info@palazzoducale.genova.it |
Founded in the 14th century as the first city council, this palazzo was expropriated from the Grimaldi family, and susbequently underwent its first series of extensions at the end of the sixteenth century under the supervision of A. Vannone. After a fire that destroyed the roofing, it was retored between 1778 and 1783 by Tagliafichi, who designed the imposing neo-classical façade that faces onto Piazza Matteotti, one of the first of its kind to be built in Italy. From the double galleried ground floor entrance hall you may ascend to the first floor to visit the beautiful chapel, decorated by G.B. Carlone, as well as the Room of the Two Councils, the Greater and the Lesser, which constituted the government of the time, when the Republican nobles decided the fate of the city. Recently restored, the Palazzo Ducale is today a multi-purpose cultural centre in which, as well as antique shops, bookshops, fitness centres, bars, restaurants and nightclubs, you can find the Historical Archives of the City of Genova, the Ligurian Society of National History (which boasts a library containing 27,000 volumes), the Ligurian Academy of Science and Literature, the Society of Literature and Scientific Discourse and the Youth Information Centre. Important international exhibitions also take place there. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Marianna Martindale |
 Photo: Carly Lutzmann |
 The largest marine park in Europe |
Area Porto Antico - Ponte Spinola Genoa 16128 Italy +39 10 248 8011 http://www.acquario.ge.it info@acquario.ge.it |
This museum, one of the main tourist attractions in Italy, welcomes millions of visitors each year. Built between 1989 and 1992, it reproduces a coastal atmosphere in 48 basins, four of which are oceanic and have two viewing levels. Continually changing, it also includes the Nave Italia, which was the seat of the Italian Pavilion during the Expo of 1992, and is now home to around 500 different species of fish, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, birds and invertebrates. Entrance fee: adults: EUR11.60; ages 3-12: EUR6.90; children up to three enter free; groups and school parties welcome. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Tambu |
 Photo: Roberto Ferrari |
 Photo: Roberto Ferrari |
 Photo: stereoo |
 Photo: Minollo |
 Photo: Rich Unger |
 Photo: AzucarRebelde |
 Photo: pincopallo |
 Photo: stxanax |
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The symbol of Genoa |
Via San Benigno Genoa 16149 Italy +39 0102465346 http://www.provincia.genova.it... |
This is known throughout the world as the emblem of Genoa. It is built on a rocky outcrop, the remains of Promontorio Hill which has been quarried for centuries for stone with which to build the city. The Lanterna was built in 1543 on the site of an earlier lighthouse. It has always kept the seafaring people safe, enabling them to direct their boats towards a safe harbour from 33 miles away. Legend has it that the Republic government assassinated the architect by making him jump from the top of the lighthouse so that he couldn't build a similar lighthouse for a rival city. The 120 metre tower is in all Genoese's hearts, and when they see it they know that they are at home. If you can manage to climb the 375 steps to the top of the lighthouse you will be rewarded with a splendid view over the port and the whole bay. After a year of closure the lighthouse is now open to everyone. It is necessary to book in advance. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Andrea Beggi |
 Photo: Francesca Grillo |
 Photo: dinoled |
 Photo: Ciccio Pizzettaro |
 Photo: Margherita |
 Photo: luigino visconti |
 Photo: Luca Rosacuta |
 Photo: Lennart Kluge |
 Squirrels in the park |
Via Capolungo 1, 3, 9 Via Anita Garibaldi Genoa 16167 Italy |
Today a public park, this is an amalgamation of the splendid gardens of the Groppallo, Serra and Grimaldi villas, which, together with the Villa Brignole Sale (Duchessa di Galliera), make up the largest green space in the city. This luxuriant area, which occupies almost nine hectares, retains the orignal, romatically inspired layout of the gardens, with English lawns, palm trees, ponds and fountains, and a beautiful rose garden which in May and June is visited by plant lovers from near and far. While Villa Groppallo houses the city library, Villa serra is the site of the Galleria d'Arte Moderna Villa Serra Groppallo, and in what was the Villa Grimaldi (now Fassio) is the Raccolte Frugone a Villa Fassio. In the summer, the park, has recently been discovered as a perfect film location, hosts the famous International Ballet Festival and the Rose Garden Cinema: a summer arena for contemporary and classic films. But the Parco di Nervi is perhaps most memorable for the numerous, almost tame squirrels that live there, delighting generations of children. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: wcities |
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All you need to know about the city and riviera |
Area Porto Antico Palazzina Santa Maria Genoa 16123 Italy aptgenova@apt.genova.it |
It is located in the old Palazzina S. Maria at the heart of the Area del Porto Antico, just a few meters from the aquarium. This is the most visited information point in the city. The information available includes museum opening times, tour bookings, excursions on the Riviera and news of all the cultural activities going on in the city. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: matteogpalmieri |
 Church of the barbers and surgeons |
Vico S.Cosimo, 16 Genoa 16123 Italy |
This 16th century church is probably the one Romanesque Genoese church, which has been well maintained. It has preserved its three shallow apses, the tower similar to that at Chiesa di S.Donato, and the black and white columns. To the side of the portal made from Roman materials, on the façade, is a tomb with a pointed arch and small columns called the Barisone, in memory of the famous man who was a spy in the war between Genoa and Pisa. When his treachery was found out, he was arrested and put under house arrest in the palace adjacent to the church, where he later died. The sepulchre for Barbers and surgeons is particularly interesting. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Massimo Strazzeri |
 Photo: Tim Brown |
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Seekers of immortality |
Piazzale Resasco Genoa 16137 Italy |
This is one of the most interesting cemeteries in Italy and is visited by many foreign tourists. It owes its fame to its amphitheatre on the slopes of the hill and the continuous succession of monumental buildings and little woods. It was created by G.B.Resasco in successive phases since the middle of the nineteenth century. It is dominated by the Chapel of the Intercession (or Pantheon). Here are all the headstones of the famous people of the city. There are sculptures and architecture throughout the galleries, tree-lined avenues and in the English and Jewish cemeteries. They are not only a sample of art from the second half of the nineteenth century; they also show the self-congratulatory nature of the upper-classes of this period. They spared no expense in order that they should be remembered by a chapel or a monument next to the city's heroes. Caterina Campodonico is a well-known example. She was a simple salesgirl who stood at streetcorners selling nuts and canestrelli. She saved money all her life so that she might have a funeral monument which was similar in stature to that of Mazzini. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Forrest McGregor |
 Photo: Francesca Grillo |
 Photo: Forrest McGregor |
 Photo: jeff robinson |
 Photo: willard_austria |
 Photo: willard_austria |
 Photo: Alice |
 Photo: Simone Lehmann |
 Photo: giasco |
 The golden refuges of the nobles |
Via Francesco Pozzo, 28 Genoa 16145 Italy |
Built at the end of the 16th century by A. Vannone, this is the first of the villas the visitor comes across at Albaro, once favoured by the aristocracy as a location for their country residences, and still an elegant residential area today. Surrounded by a large park, which is still partly farmed, the villa is considered the best example of pre-alessian Genoese architecture. It is characterised by a long form with a double galleried corner loggia, which opens on the surrouding countryside, decorated insude by the seventeenth century artists L. Tavarone and B. Castello. The name 'Paradise', by which the villa was known in subsequent centuries, is derived not only from the wonderful location, but also from the flourishing garden in which noblemen would relax, and divert themselves with games and competitions, as depicted by A. Magnasco in his famous painting "Intrattenimento in un giardino di Albaro", today on show in the Galleria di Palazzo Bianco. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: wcities |