“Genova che mi struggi, intestini – caruggi”
(Genoa, you pine me, you are intestine - you are tiny streets)
cit. G. Caproni*
The first time I saw Genoa was in 2008. I was with my father heading to this city to enroll me at the University.
I have never before though about Genoa as a possible city where to live. I was just choosing it because I had the impression of a good University with subjects that I would have definitely liked.
I was in the train, and after many dark galleries, here it was Genoa with its colorful houses which seem to be clinging to the mountainside. I suddenly thought:“That’s the city where I want to live”.
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| Genoa: mountainside |
I spend almost two year in a wonderful neighborhood called “Castelletto”, where you can enjoy one of the most beautiful city landscape.
I used to stop there read a book or just relaxing after a day of intensive study.
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| Genoa Castelletto |
Then I moved to the hearth of the city, near to the harbor. The historical city center is amazing: very narrow cobblestone streets (called “vicoli” or “caruggi”), ancient and charming shops and hidden churches. I loved getting lost in the tiny street and end up in small treasures.
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| Genoa: vicoli or caruggi |
Genoa is definitely an harbor city, with a long medieval tradition as one of the most important port and Republic of the Mediterrean sea. We should also remind that it gave birth to Christopher Columbus, the man who discovered America. Despite the fact that the splendor of such period has finished it still preserves all its aspects: fish smell, noise, fresh fish markets, seamen and prostitutes. That’s because Genoa still has the charm of “dangerous” old city, with all its songs and legends.
Here a famous song:
“Nei quartieri dove il sole del buon Dio non dà i suoi raggi
ha già troppi impegni per scaldar la gente d'altri paraggi,
una bimba canta la canzone antica della donnaccia
quello che ancor non sai tu lo imparerai solo qui tra le mie braccia.” (Città Vecchia – De Andrè)
“ In the neighborhoods where the Sun of God does not shine,
As it is too much busy to warm people of other areas,
A small girl is singing the song of the loose woman
What you still do not know, you will learn here in my arms*”
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| Genoa:historical center |
I was not afraid of discovering the authentic part of the city and to plunge into its real life with its bars, people and noise. One thing has to be said to Genovese people, they quite cautious and not very welcoming people, not everyone of course. As history can tell you, people from harbor city are suspicious about new people coming from outside, as they see so many of them coming and going. Maybe is just a way to protect yourself from suffering or from to be cheated.
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| Genoa: historical shops |
Anyway Genoa is still not too much touristic, despite the fact of having a lot of history and being a beautiful city.
San Lorenzo church is Genoa's main cathedral since 1118. The wonderful facade, has black and white layered stripes of marble and slate which is typical of this area, and two sad lions settled at the entrance. The legend says that during a battle against Venice, other medieval port and republic of the Mediterranean, the winners stole the two lions from Venice. That is reason why they are sad.
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| Genoa: San Lorenzo and the sad lion |
Another piece of history can be found in the numerous little squares in the historical center, one of my favorite is Piazza Banchi, where you can find the colorful San Peter’s Church with the stairs heading to the entrance. The peculiarity are namely the raised or floating stairs compared to the shops and the building around the square. A legend said that in these stairs a famous Italian compositor, Alessandro Stradella was stabbed to death.
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| Genoa: S. Peter's Church |
This sad story was the epilogue of an unhappy choice, the one of falling in love with a women already engaged with a Venetian aristocrat. Stradella was the music teacher of the woman; they soon became lovers, but the fact was a scandal at that time. When the noble man discover them, they were forced to escape to Venice. The outraged man hired two killers to get rid of the compositor and the woman. Fortunately, in Venice they managed to escape to them.
However, once Stradella was back to Genoa, despite the fact of being hidden, he was caught by the killers and stabbed to death while climbing up the stair of the San Peter’s church. It was the 28 February1682.
The legend say that since that moment, in some silent night you still could hear the melancholic musical notes of the composition, as it were his lament.
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