Genova

During our stay at the Lago Maggiore in 2022, we discussed about jumping to the coast or not. Genova appealed to our imagination and got stuck in our minds. After a year of longing we finally went. From stunning Bogliasco, we took the train to Genova. Just around the corner of the central station, you'll find the Villa del Principe, or the Palazzo di Andrea Doria. Kurt Hielscher made several photos here and we made a good start. 

The fountain of Neptune with the Stazione Marittima in the back.

Built at the behest of Admiral Doria (1466-1560), Villa del Principe is probably more than its fountains and its 16th century beautiful and impressive garden. Kurt Hielscher, sticked to the garden with his camera, so, as a real Dutch tourist I took my chances to enter the free gardens and avoid the entrance fee for the rest of the Villa, probably missing equal impressive rooms with frescoes and Renaissance art. But we only took a day for Genova so there was way more to explore.

Due to the construction of the Stazione Marittima and its access roads, the garden was significantly reduced towards the end of the 19th century. The construction of the train station at theo ther side in 1860 had also its impact on the calmness of the garden. Restoration works after WWII were needed due to quite severe bomb damage, but today we can still enjoy the palace and its garden in full glory.

La fontana dei delfini at the end of the corridor.

From the Villa we strolled through the Via di Prè, a long and tight alley with even tighter sideways composing a labyrinth of the raw edge of Genova to end up in the chique of the pallaces of the Via Garibaldi and the main square, the Piazza Raffaele de Ferrari. Wow, what an impressions! And then the Cathedral and very lively harbour had to come.

The pallaces of the Via Garibaldi. Genova owes its nickname La Superba to the many marble palaces from the 11th to the 16th century, when it was one of the most important maritime powers in the Mediterranean. The state gained prosperity from trade to the East and the crusaders who sailed from here to the holy land.

The main square: Piazza Raffaele de Ferrari.

Monumento Giuseppe Garibaldi (1804-1882).

Cattedrale di San Lorenzo

Inside the cathedral.

View on Genova from one of its viewpoints, 1925. Photo: Kurt Hielscher.
There are dozens of those viewpoints. Though I searched in advance using Google Earth I did not find one. In the end we only strolled through the city center so I'll keep this one for a next time. And a few more. To be continued.

Below: view on the harbor of Genova. Photo: Casper Molenaar.