Genoa: La Superba

Today, I read a New York Times article by Dennis Lim about filmmaker Pietro Marcello and his 2009 film La Bocca del Lupo (The Mouth of the Wolf). Filmed in Genoa, which Lim calls  "a city that is long past its prime." 

The article mentions that Mr. Marcello remembered some stories he had heard from his father, a sailor, about Genoa. This brought to my mind, some stories I too heard about Genoa, from sailors, years ago.

My first passport issued July 17, 1970.

I graduated from college with a degree in Graphic Design. I should have started thinking about my future in the industry, but rather, I was distracted by a generous family offer.  Travel with my brother on an all expense paid vacation to Europe for two months. Put yourself in my shoes...what would you have said? I, of course said YES! Up to this point in my life, I had flown on an airplane twice (between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia) and family vacations were long car trips to neighboring U.S. towns with stays in Howard Johnson and other less-glamorous overnight accommodations.

So off I went. Traveling by Icelandair, we landed in Luxembourg and traveled by train throughout Europe for the most exciting 2 months of my life. I returned home to the less than exciting idea of actually getting a job.

At the encouragement of a college friend, I made my way to New York City, got an entry-level position at a retail publication, but continued to dream about Europe. That's when someone suggested that maybe I should work as a outside salesperson at a travel agency. I could sell travel part-time, earn agency travel discounts to travel and still keep my graphic art position. Well that was 40 years ago and although I continued to work in Graphic Design for about 15 years, I ultimately worked in the travel industry for 38 years.

So what does this have to do with Genoa? The agency I worked with was owned by a woman who had a relationship with the owner of Home Line Cruises. They are long out of business, but the Oceanic and Homeric cruise ships employed a 100% Italian crew. My agency responsibility was to repatriate these sailors to their Italian homes for their shore leaves. I learned so much about Italy from these men. Even though the owner of Home Lines was Genovese, all the other Italians I met always warned me against ever traveling to Genoa.

Genoa is located in the Italian region of Liguria, centered on the Italian Riviera between the Riviera di Ponente to the left and the Riviera di Levante to it's right. Because of my frequent stays in Nice, I've begun to see some of the Ponente by visiting Ventimiglia, San Remo and Imperia. On the Levante, I've been to Portofino, Porto Venere, and the towns of the Cinque Terre (Monterosso, Vernazza, Manarola, Riomaggiore. I never got to Corniglia. Too many stairs for my group!) And although Genoa is within hours of these locations, the words of the Home Line's sailors kept advising...Don't go to Genoa.

I defied the sailors' advise this past April when Peter and traveled by train from Nice to Genoa as part of our spring Italian adventure to Rome, Naples, Caserta (where the filmmaker Pietro Marcello was born) and Salerno. To be safe, in case Genoa was as bad as I had been warned, I only booked a two night stay.

Pietro Marcelo's father described Genoa as "the ideal city." While I may not go that far, I found Mr. Lim's description of Genoa in the article very appropriate.

A view from Ristorante Montallegro reached by taking the Funicular Righi to the hills above Genoa.

"Tucked between the mountains and the sea, its maze of narrow streets etched into steep hillsides, Genoa was once a prosperous independent republic and global maritime capital, and it remains an active port. But during the past century it has endured wartime bombings and the decline of local industry. Parts of the seamy medieval quarter, historically a red-light district and now home to a sizable immigrant population, remain stubbornly resistant to gentrification."

We arrived in Genoa at the Stazione Principe situated very near the port and took a taxi to our hotel located in il Centro Storico. The view from the taxi ride reminded me of scenes from another movie filmed in Genoa. Simply entitled Genova and starring Colin Firth, the film shows the city from the elevated motorway running along the port. The roadway is very unattractive (reminding me of what New York City once looked like when the elevated subways ran through the city) and doesn't prepare you for the beautiful palazzi you see once you get into the old town.

We had booked the Locanda di Palazzo Cicala for its location. It is located on the Piazza San Lorenzo and faces the Romanesque-Gothic style San Lorenzo Cathedral. The piazza is one of the many gathering spots where students, tourists, and residents alike would sit at open-air cafes or on the steps of the Cathedral. From here we were able to easily walk to many of Genoa's other churches, historic buildings, museums, and theatres.

The Locanda di Palazzo di Cicala http://www.palazzocicala.it/  is in a 16-17th century building hardly visible from the piazza, as the entrance is on a side street, which like so many of the other streets (or carruggi

Our brief stay in Genoa was beginning to look encouraging. It got even better once the proprietress recommended a small restaurant next door for a late lunch. We were lucky to get into Le Cantine Squarciafico as they were just winding down their lunch service. We were one of only two occupied tables. The guests at the other table were celebrating a birthday and bantered easily with Peter once he started speaking Italian. Put a glass of wine in Peter and all sudden Italian spills from his mouth. Without the wine, he was hardly able to order our lunch, which as you can see was delicious.

Branzino ai frutti di mare.

Mandilli al pesto.

After lunch and for the next two days, we wandered the Genoa carruggi, took the funiculars to the hills above and had one great meal after another, including their pizza which was surprisingly good and in hind-sight was better than I had in Naples later in our trip.

One additional memorable meal stop was at the Gran Bar Pasticceria Klainguti, Genoa's oldest bakery located on the active Piazza Soziglia full of shoppers and business workers. Yet right around the corner, on a street I chose to get us to Le Strade Nuove to see the magnificent palazzi there, we came face-to-face with at least six ladies-of-the-night (in mid-morning) all very attractively spaced along this small street leading to another piazza and church! We would have these types of encounters frequently.

Gran Bar Pasticceria Klainguti. Giuseppe Verdi's favorite!
Below, two of the many palazzi on Le Strada Nuovi.

There are so many churches in Genoa, but this one Chiesa del Gesu (Sant'Ambrogio) was spectacular!

Piazza De Ferrari

Teatro Carlo Felice production of I Pagliacci

Two nights allowed a delightful introduction to Genoa, but certainly was not enough. One of my primary reasons for a visit here was to see the famous Genoa Aquarium. We found it, but just didn't find the time to visit. Although we did get to go to the Teatro Carlo Felice for a production of I Pagliacci designed and directed by Franco Zeffirelli. An added surprise was that the Maestro was in the audience for that particular performance in celebration of the Teatro's anniversary. The audience was filled with young rambunctious students. However, once the opera began, they were quiet and well behaved. At the end of the opera, when the performers released giant balloons and confetti in to the audience, complete pandemonium ensued. It was wonderful to see.

Genoa was not the horror I expected. In fact it was La Superba. I look forward to my next visit. In the meantime, I won't be listening to any more sailors.