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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 17, 2019 19:01:53 GMT
Genoa, a city that doesn't get nearly the touristic press as some other Italian cities, is a place that has long called to me. The thread title alludes to the fact that Genoa is a satisfying destination in that it is so thoroughly itself. There is tourism, but nothing like the throngs nor the touristic exploitation found in Florence and Venice, for instance. Genoa seems quite content to remain the great port and commercial center it has been for centuries. It is the capital of the region of Liguria and the sixth largest city in Italy. Everyone should wallow in my report, but also must not miss Fumobici's Genova report. This city provides enough material for any number of reports. more detailsI arrived there by train from Florence on May 9 of this year. The route takes you through the Cinque Terre, which you glimpse in quick snapshots before being plunged back into yet another dark tunnel, thus ~ My airbnb apartment was a wonderful, large open space in what had been a 500 year old salt warehouse. It was parallel to the wall of the old debtors' prison. That prison, the Malapaga, features in an old movie, for those wanting gritty historical background. The apartment was a stone's throw from the old harbor, which nowadays gleams with open space, art, street musicians, restaurants, and things to do. With my deficient sense of direction, I like to have a landmark to guide me back home. This should do the trick ~ I arrived on a Thursday, and there was a Slow Food / Slow Fish event going on all weekend with lots of visitors, most of whom seemed to be Italian ~ The striking Bigo Tower, which will feature later on in the thread ~ The old town of Genoa curves around its harbor and port ~ This part of town is a warren of narrow streets, small plazas, funky medieval buildings, and grand edifices ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 17, 2019 19:23:52 GMT
Some wandering around in a town which invites endless wandering. This almost represents Italy for me, the worker or owner smoking outside the business ~ Your guess is as good as mine ~ This street sign is part of what will have to remain somewhat of a private visual joke for me, since I couldn't think of any decent way to snap it. Each corner at this perfectly named intersection had its own streetwalker, each one a Botero goddess, right down to the long wavy black hair ~ A sign of some of the more recent immigration to this port city ~ All of the streets had many wonderful traditional stores, selling the freshest fish and the most divine prepared dishes ~ These small plazas in the old town were heavily used and enjoyed ~ My landlady was enthusiastically knowledgeable about the city's history and took me for a walk around. She said this Madonna's help was solicited by women wanting to get pregnant and quipped that nowadays girls scamper to the opposite side of the church ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 18, 2019 1:47:06 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 18, 2019 4:27:47 GMT
You're absolutely right -- Genoa does seem to be absolutely not denatured by tourism. I love port cities, but your pictures of the ordinary streets show that they are anything but ordinary. The shops in the old palaces are outstanding. France has a law to prevent any changes to "classified" buildings. I imagine that Italy has the same kind of law to protect the buildings with those shops inside, but it is probably not necessary in this case -- you would have to be absolutely crazy to lay a finger on any of those walls or ceilings.
I love the photo of the bathing beauty in the flower pot. The Mexican restaurant looks like it might be a very cheerful place although perhaps not the best source of Mexican food.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 18, 2019 4:33:32 GMT
This is the ceiling in part of a medieval church complex which served as a hostel for pilgrims. I fixated on the angels, as the first time I'd seen this sort of depiction of them was in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. I was to see more of them as body-less entities elsewhere in Italy, notably in Trastevere, Rome ~ Before Genoa, I'd never seen this type of painted facade ~ Entrance to the Faculty of Architecture. I believe this may be part of the old city walls system ~ Another striped church ~
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Post by bjd on Jun 18, 2019 6:11:05 GMT
Yes, Genoa definitely looks like Italy, not just a tourist haven. It seems to have been fixed up quite a bit since we went there in the mid-70s! On our way to getting a ferry to Sardinia we stayed over in Genoa. The port then was just a port, with nothing to attract people with food or other activities. One thing I remember were streets with orange trees growing along them -- at that time I had never seen oranges just growing like that. We stayed in the old city.
It's time for a return visit.
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Post by fumobici on Jun 18, 2019 10:39:00 GMT
Isn't Genoa just a wonder to behold? I'm so glad you get to experience it first-hand Bixa.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 18, 2019 15:19:28 GMT
Thank you all! Kerouac, you get the feeling there that everyone is happy with things just the way they are for the most part, so Genoa seems safe from the speculators, at least for now. I am gratified that you "got it" from looking at my pictures -- thanks! Speaking of preservation, my landlady told me about a venerable food shop that was at the point of closing because of higher rent or some such. Its customers mounted a successful campaign to save it. I tried to look up a news story about that, but didn't find one. I did, however, find this excellent blog with its overview of the fabulous food shops in Genoa: www.asmallkitcheningenoa.com/genoa-food-shops-and-deli/Bjd, you would love the mixture of authentic with tourist amenities. It makes walking around the sleekly redesigned old harbor as much fun as discovering all the winding little streets in the old city. Awwww, thank you so much, Fumobici. Your wonderful coverage of the city was a definite inspiration. Yes, it is a wonder! I hope you all will return to this thread, which is not nearly finished yet. Genoa has so much to offer that I've culled photos frantically, and still wound up with so much to show without nearly covering the place sufficiently.
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Post by lugg on Jun 18, 2019 17:11:52 GMT
Genoa looks lovely Bixa. Just the sort of place I love ...a walkable city by the coast. Thanks for the link to St George as I wondered why there were so many English flags displayed on the balconies! (I had no idea re the link to Genoa) Slow food /fish - sounds my idea of perfection. Did you try some ?
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Post by lagatta on Jun 18, 2019 18:08:08 GMT
Livia and I are swishing for some fish!
Sadly, I've only been through Genova, with two friends from Turin heading back home from Perugia, where we were facilitating at an event. Pretty sure I went over the bridge that collapsed later on. It did catch my eye. Many, many thousands of Genovesi and other Ligurians set off at Genova for the long, long trip to La Boca, Buenos Aires.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jun 18, 2019 18:39:28 GMT
Genoa looks much more like my sort of place ...fabulous images too. The shops look enchanting.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 18, 2019 19:45:41 GMT
Lugg, you described it perfectly. There is a fishing (quaint, with shops & restaurants to match) village quite nearby, but I didn't get there. Next time! I did have some lovely things to eat in Genoa, but the only thing I can remember eating in the very popular and crowded slow fish event was a watery ice made by people from Catania, Sicily. (the eastern side of that island, *haughty sniff*) LaGatta, later I'll show the excellent mosaic mural in honor of all the immigrants. Cheery, the food shops would make you swoon with the aromas. One of my favorite things about Italy all over was the amount of great shopping available -- including lots of economical options for things like everyday clothing. Moving right along, I see that I have not subjected you all to a church in quite a while, so here are brief (by my standards) looks at two of them ~ This is San Donato, consecrated in 1189 ~ The "Cristo Moro" crucifix, so-called because the Christ figure is so dark, due to being carved in giuggiolo wood, translated by google as "jujube". sourceThis exquisite Madonna and Child from the late 14th century is by Nicolò da Voltri ~ An exceptionally pretty and lively Lady of Mount Carmel ~ St. Anthony and then we're out the door ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 18, 2019 19:46:09 GMT
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jun 18, 2019 19:57:29 GMT
Gorgeous...if I'm honest I like the street art more than the fantastic churchy stuff. The architecture is very groovy tho..
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 18, 2019 22:59:35 GMT
I understand. I think you'll love the exterior of Genoa's cathedral, though.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 19, 2019 3:18:40 GMT
I am amused by the two posts at the entrance to the arcades in that first photograph. Just goes to show that even 100 years ago, people needed to be blocked from driving where they shouldn't.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 19, 2019 4:23:26 GMT
Oh, I didn't think about that! I guess wholesalers would try to get their carts in there to unload in front of stores.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 19, 2019 4:35:30 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 19, 2019 4:51:07 GMT
Stained glass windows! Must be getting closer to France.
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Post by bjd on Jun 19, 2019 4:59:58 GMT
Great close-ups of the outside sculptures of the cathedral. I find it interesting too that inside, they left the old frescoes but put more recent (16th or 17th c?) painting on the ceiling above the altar. I admit I prefer the old stuff. I believe I saw something similar in Ravenna. I imagine that over the course of the centuries, as fashions changed, old stuff was covered up, so it's lucky that some of it remains.
I think those black and white striped churches are fairly common in Sardinia too.
Once again, I like your street pictures in which Genoa simply looks like a city people actually live in rather than a place that seems to exist solely for tourism-related activities. And I just had a look and found that Genoa is the biggest port in Italy, 3rd in the Mediterranean after Marseille and Barcelona.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 19, 2019 8:30:25 GMT
I like that one too. Sort of a "Jeezus wept, wtf is happening?"
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Post by lagatta on Jun 19, 2019 11:19:16 GMT
The lion looks like Livia (or the late Renzo, more appropriate outside his cathedral) begging for food after having been fed. "Please, human, may I have another goat? Just one little kid?"
I love his "pleading feline" expression.
K2, you know very well that Genoa is close to France. One of my neighbours visited Nice not long ago; I was feeding her cats then.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 19, 2019 21:40:38 GMT
Genoa is trying to entice you to come there. Great close-ups of the outside sculptures of the cathedral. ... I imagine that over the course of the centuries, as fashions changed, old stuff was covered up... I like your street pictures in which Genoa simply looks like a city people actually live in ... Thank you, Bjd! Yes, it makes sense that churches, like homes, accumulate good and bad decor over time. Like you, I much prefer the earlier stuff. You may remember my thread on La Martorana, which was shockingly vandalized (some might say) with Baroque overlays. More "regular stuff" is coming up, but first we'll have a look at formal, proudly prosperous Genoa. my very most favorite is the frontal view of the lion by the farmacia. The face! Astonished, perplexed and a bit saddened by the world he sees around him. Aw, too kind, Huckle! He seems so much as though he was drawn from life. Did you notice his very long tail? Another lion on one of the capitals on the side of the cathedral has the same wrap-around tail. I like that one too. Sort of a "Jeezus wept, wtf is happening?" Actually, he depressed me a little, as I'm thinking he was copied from life as he languished in an inadequate 13th century zoo. I love his "pleading feline" expression. It must have worked -- he seems quite plump. Some whimsy on the way to Piazza de Ferrari ~ A lovely church I did not enter ~ Of course there is a student presence and social consciousness in Genoa, as evidenced here ~ The stock exchange ~ The side of the Ducal palace ~ No surprise, there is a giant statue of Garibaldi. The building behind it is the opera house ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 19, 2019 21:51:07 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 19, 2019 21:56:54 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 19, 2019 22:05:30 GMT
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Post by bjd on Jun 20, 2019 6:03:08 GMT
I like that they made the memorial to emigration with mosaics, keeping in with traditional art in the region. Now that there is so much on the news about migrants trying to reach Europe, we tend to forget how many Italians emigrated to North and South America during the 20th century, not to mention to other European countries.
I'm also happy to see the graffito 'Salvini criminale'.
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Post by lagatta on Jun 20, 2019 8:48:49 GMT
I guess Nice (Nizza) and Genova share Garibaldi. He also journeyed to South America. Missed Salvini criminale, but there was so much in this segment that I'll have to go over it several times.
Livia was out on the flat roof next door (building a storey shorter than ours) but has returned. The sun is emerging - tomorrow the longest day in the year, in the Northern Hemisphere, and the shortest in the Southern.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 20, 2019 15:12:01 GMT
I like both the grand buildings of the centre and also the joyous African migrants. The narrow streets are excellent because they prevent various forms of urban development that could ruin certain areas.
The Paris metro network has a Garibaldi station, as he is considered to be a progressive icon in France. Nice was tossed back and forth between France and various Italian segments back in those days, but he was born at a time when Nice was French, so his official birth name in the French Empire is Joseph Marie Garibaldi.
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Post by fumobici on Jun 20, 2019 15:54:04 GMT
I'm kicking myself for not yet getting back to Genoa yet this year thanks to this sensitive and gorgeous report. It's been much cooler than here in Tuscany the past few weeks. In my experience Italian will be better understood in Nizza than French in Gênes. The words in the old city-regional dialect of Nice (which they still use a lot, at least for for names and signage) look much closer to Italian than French to me.
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