“Lying at the bottom of his gulf with the careless majesty of a queen … Genoa comes, so to speak, to meet the traveler” (A. Dumas, 1841).
Hello my dear readers,
I hope you are having a great week so far 🙂
As mentioned in my previous post, today I’ll take you to Liguria, to Genoa more precisely, the city where pesto alla genovese was borne.
Genoa, the capital of Liguria, called also La Superba, being located on the Gulf of Genoa, fronting the Ligurian Sea, is currently the busiest and important port on the Mediterranean Sea.
Even though is the sixth-largest city in Italy, Genoa is not crowded with tourists giving you the opportunity to enjoy the rich cultural history in art, music and cuisine.
The history of Genoa is linked to the navy and commerce and has been called “La Superba” and “La Dominante”. Its cultural richness in terms of history, art, literature, music and cuisine, allowed it to become the European Capital of Culture in 2004, while in 2006 the Strade Nuove and the Rolli Palaces System were declared patrimony of humanity by UNESCO.
If you are an art lover, this is the place for you. Genoa has a lot of museums where you can find works by Caravaggio, Van Dyck Rubens, Durer and Veronese and the city’s finest collection of old masters, and the best thing is that are not crowded.
In Genoa’s old port you can visit the largest aquarium in Europe, a Biosphere with a botanical garden and the Bigo Crane, an iconic symbol for the new-old port, that its lift takes you up 40 meters to enjoy sweeping views of the city.
Palazzo Bianco, Palazzo Rosso and Palazzo Reale are only a few from more than 100 palazzi that attest to the might and power of the Republic of Genoa’s ruling class during the 16th and 17th centuries. Most of these glittery showcases were built along what were called Le Strade Nuove or New Streets, to demonstrate the wealth of the city’s prominent and aristocratic families, but also to serve as lodging for visiting dignitaries and notables.
And as a city by the sea, you cannot miss the lighthouse of Genoa or simple called “la Lanterna”, that has always been the symbol of Genoa. 77 meters high, the historic tower stands on the remains of a 40-meter hill and is located about 177 meters above sea level. The first construction dates back to 1128, but its history fades into legend and is closely linked to the history of the port because the Lanterna has always been the reference point for ships in transit in the Gulf of Genoa.
The current construction dates back to 1543 and since then it has overcome conflicts and natural disasters standing in the Genoa sky and as the highest lighthouse in the Mediterranean and one of the oldest among those still active. I don’t know why, but I’ve always been fascinated by the lighthouses.
Another testimony of Genoa’s link with the sea is Galata, Museo del Mare, the largest maritime museum in the Mediterranean dedicated to the history of navigation. Through the reproduction and display of boats of all sizes and types, nautical instruments and charts, multimedia and interactive workstations, the museum offers the visitor a real journey through time allowing him to identify himself with the lives of sailors, passengers and migrants. How can you miss this interesting and engaging museum, especially in the city that gave birth to Christopher Columbus, the greatest navigator of all time?!
Genoa’s medieval core, filled with a twisting maze of caruggi, that are narrow cobblestoned streets, offers a range of architectural styles, amazing artisan shops and historic eateries where you can indulge in the exquisite foods from breakfast to dinner and on top of all, it overlooks the sea.
Genoa has an excellent tourist accommodation with over 500 hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs and apartments. It is not difficult to find a suitable accommodation for everyone’s pockets.
Another great thing of Genoa is that with any temperature and in every occasion, it always manages to offer various possibilities. You have a free weekend and you want to plan a getaway? You can visit Genoa, no matter the season we are in.
One of the reasons to visit Genoa is its genuine and traditional cuisine, with very ancient origins, a 360° menu, in which sea ingredients from the coast meet vegetables and meat from the inland.
Genoa has some of the tastiest foods in Italy, from pesto, the great classic, now known and imitated all over the world, pesto is the symbol of Genoese and Italian cuisine; the streets of the city are constantly inebriated by the freshly baked focaccia; pansoti con sugo alle noci, one of the most characteristic and tasty first course originating from the eastern Liguria, which is a stuffed pasta usually with chard, eggs and ricotta, topped with walnut sauce; Stoccafisso, a fish stew made in numerous ways, but the one that makes the stoccafisso more appetizing while preserving its purity is called “buridda” which is boiled and seasoned with potatoes, cherry tomatoes, taggiasche olives, pine nuts, salted capers, parsley, onion and oil, an explosion of taste in this great classic of the Ligurian capital; Cappon magro, a pyramid covered with green sauce that has inside toasted bread rubbed with oil, garlic, vinegar and salt, fish, hard-boiled eggs, boiled vegetables, artichokes, tuna, shrimp, capers and olives, a very good looking dish and delicious; Pandolce, is the sweet of the Genoese Christmas tradition, that it is even said to have been the protagonist of a propitiatory rite of health, fortune and money for the new year for centuries.
Ok, now, with all these delicious foods, I’m really hungry, and you?
Join me next time and enjoy a good pasta with pesto alla genovese.
Thank you all for reading 🙂
All photo credit Google Images edited by Popsicle Society
Beautiful photos!. What an ancient place!
Thank you very much! Yes, really a beautiful place to see 😉
Good looking building and nice pictures!
True Suni! A wonderful city to explore 😉
Beautiful Photos😍 Hey i dont see gaps between the buildings, practically how people commute 🤔 window to window 😉… Ha ha.. Jus kidding.😂. Genoa is really big and beautiful with lovely foods.✨👏
Hey Simon, true, the gap between the buildings is very narrow, and they call it caruggi, which means narrow alley 😉 Let’s say they like to stay in touch 😉 Thank you for stopping by! Have a wonderful day 😊😊
Hey Ribanna, Thanks for the time ✨🤗 Thanks for sharing the new word Caruggi😉 yes mayb dey designed in such fashion to stay in touch all the time✨😃 Have a great day✨🤗✍️
It’s a beautiful place…😍😍
True! Deserve a visit 😉
A great guide to Genoa. The food there is amazing and so beautiful all along that coast.
Very true! Amazing food and lovely places to visit! We don’t need anything else 😉 Thank you for stopping by 😊
Wow! The beautiful antique scenery, the assorted mouth watering dishes, the peace and serenity of Genoa has won my heart and would definitely merit my visit one day some day when I can afford it. Rest assured this is now on my list of life goals. Truly amazing!!
Great thanks for sharing, Ribana. Enjoy the best of the rest of a pleasant week.
Thank you very much! Indeed, you have described it very well 😊 There is something for everyone in this city 😊 Who likes the history, the architecture, the art, the tranquility of the sea or simply enjoying good food, can find everything 😊
I’m glad you like it 😊 I wish you one day to be able to visit it 😊 And I hope one day, I’ll be able too 😉
Thank you for reading! Have a wonderful week ahead!
OMG! I really need to escape New Jersey!!! LOL! 🙄
🤪🤪🤪🤪 Well, a holiday sometimes is very welcomed 😉🌸
So is money! 🤑🤣
Very true 😉🤪🤪
Beautiful picture ♥️
A awesome guide to Genoa ❤️
Thank you Jyoti! I’m glad you like it 😉🌸🌸
My pleasure dear ❤️❤️
I absolutely love it ! cannot wait to visit ! thank you for sharing and for the beautiful photos!
I’m glad you like it 😉 Hope you will see it soon 😉 Definitely a very interesting city to visit! Thank you very much for stopping by and have a wonderful day! 🌸🌸
Beautiful pics, perfect click.. and informative 🤩❤️
Thank you very much for reading Olivia! I’m glad you like it 😉🌸🌸
wonderful
Thank you 😊
“suberba” it says it all I guess 😊 beautiful place! In the beautiful Italy 🇮🇹
What a great history and interesting information especially the Museo del mare 😊
Best thing is that not too much tourists haha despite is the sixth largest city wow!!
Tastiest food in Italy😋okay Genoa is on my list definitely 😁😁 look at all this delicious food 😳😳😳
A place for all seasons is a great place indeed 👍
Lovely place and interesting information as usually dear Riby, you are our guide to the all beautiful places in the world, Grazie Mille 😁😁
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Il piacere è sempre mio cara Huguette 😉🤗
Glad you like it! I’m sure is a city that has a lot to offer and especially that is not so crowded, can really enjoy it 😉
Great history, wonderful art and delicious food and wines, do we need something else? 🤪😉
Thank you very much dear Huguette for your time spent in reading my post! I do appreciate it a lot as I guess I’m writing only for you nowadays 🤗😉
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😁😁🤗🤗 beautiful language
Let me step in Italy and I will shred my passport 😂😂😂 of course I don’t need anything else 😁😁
And I know what you mean because only few really read and I read once that sometimes you only write for one person and now you said so and the article was right, so keep writing these very special and amazing posts and more readers will come 😊
Maybe some people don’t really know how to express except these few words despite reading the post very well 🤔🤔🤔(great post , beautiful, well written 🤔🤔)
Or maybe not 😂 I don’t know but don’t like these comments 😎😎
Some people come and go, good readers but eventually they leave, hope I won’t be one of them 🙄
Have a great Saturday and enjoy 🤗🤗🤗🤗💕💕🧸🧸🧸🥂🥂🥂🥂
Beautiful indeed 😍😍
What are you waiting for? 🤪🤪🤪
I’m sure you’ll like it! 😍🤗
I don’t give up so easily, especially because I also like it 😝😝 I just need to find the way to organize my time better 😝😝
Yes, maybe some don’t know how to express themselves, just like me 😝, or some doesn’t have anything to say even if they read…I hope you’ll not be one of them, as I’ll lose my 99.99% of audience 😅😝
Have a wonderful Sunday my dear 🤗🤗🧸🧸💕💕🥂🥂🌸🌸
Well I’m waiting to learn Spanish first, my brother is coming in September with his wife that only speaks Spanish and on Christmas my other brother with my niece that only speaks Spanish also, so I need to find a way 🙄🙄 I started alone but I’m procrastinating especially after the blog, it’s taking my entire time
But I can sing Vivo Per Lei is that counts?? 😁😁😁
Oh your comments are the best!! You express yourself perfectly 👌 if you were near I would have hit you and cursed you as well 😁😁 I do that to my friends all the time hahah
Oh my 99.99% 😳😳 I’m humbled actually 🤗 I believe you have many readers and I’m just a small part of them 😊😊
Enjoy your day as well 🤗🤗🤗💕💕🧸🧸🥂🥂🥂
Spanish is very similar to Italian, so when you’ll master Spanish, you’ll be mastering actually 2 new languages 🤗🤗🤗
Lucky you 🤪🤗😉
Oh yes, definitely, Vivo per lei counts and a lot 💕💕
Not sure about your ability of singing though 🤪🤪🤪🤣🤣🤣🤣
I thank you always for your support dear Huguette! Don’t curse me please 🤪🙈🤗🧸
Yep, 99.99% without any exaggeration 🤪
Enjoy your free days my dear 🤗🤗🌸🌸💕💕🧸🧸🤩🤩
Yes I know so I might leave blogging to focus a bit on Spanish 😊😊 I’m not being able to focus or find time
😁😁💕 I have a lousy voice! Andres Bocceli will commit suicide if he ever heard me😂😂😂
Will postpone the cursing 🤓🤓
Always a great pleasure and you too enjoy 🤗🤗🤗💕💕🧸🧸🧸🧸
Maybe while you study it you can share it with us so we learn all together 😉
Thank you for postponing the cursing 🤪🤪
Don’t sing 🎤🤪🤪🤪🤪
I hope you are enjoying the day with the family 😉💕🤗🤗🧸🧸🧸
Hahah okay I hope won’t humiliate myself in front of native speakers here 😂
I will sing just to tease you 😁😁😁🤓🤓🤓🤓
Yes part with the family and now in the car going to see my friend living near here 😁
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No, I think would be fun 😝😝😝
Just to tease me? Oh ok, I know, I know you are a naughty girl…😂😂😂
Hope you had a good time 🤗🤗💕💕🌸🌸🧸🧸
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Beautiful photos! 🙂 ♥
Thank you 😊
At school, during Italian, we learn about different places but never in such detail! I found myself fascinated by this beautiful place! Excellent post 😊
I’m glad you like it 😊 yes, I guess at school there’s not enough time for all these beautiful places 😊 Thank you very much for reading and for your kind words! 🌸😊
Such a beautiful place is Genoa! I loved each and every picture and the way you represented all the interesting facts.
Thank you very much for your kind words! I’m glad you like it 😉 It is really a wonderful place!
It’s a great pleasure meeting you! Do you live there?
Same here 🌸🌸
No, currently I’m living in Singapore but my home is in Padua, Italy 😊
Thank you so much! Padua… isn’t it the place where Portia said she was from, in the court? Wow! I would love to know more about the place! <3
I’m not sure about Portia but I’m working at my post for Padua 😉 Stay tuned 😉🌸🌸
Oh wow! That’s great news… I am so excited for it! 🙂
Genoa is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing these pictures!
Thank you very much for stopping by! Yes, is a really wonderful city!
Genoa, is indeed beautiful, l went many years ago as a young man, l should imagine much has changed – another great post and some excellent imagery Ribana – nicely done 🙂
Yes, the places are changing so much from an year to another but I guess the fashion will always remain 😊 Thank you Rory! I’m glad you like it!
Wow beautiful Place
Thank you! It really is!
I’m definitely putting this beautiful Italian town on my travel wishlist. It’s been years since our last trip to Italy and I would love to indulge in an authentic pasta dish accompanied by beautiful coastal scenery
I’m really glad you like it! If you are not a fan of crowded places, I guess you will love Genoa! It has so many beautiful things to see and taste delicious foods with amazing views 🙂
Reblogging this to my readers at sister site Timeless Wisdoms
Thank you very much for sharing 🙂
My pleasure
The food looks so delicious! Can’t wait to explore the Italian countryside 🙂
Thank you! You’ll be amazed at all these delicious foods and views 🙂