We stayed in the centre of Genoa today, getting everywhere on foot. The morning started with Chantal and I going out to get some focaccia for everyone for breakfast. After breakfast we walked down Via Garibaldi looking at what used to be palaces. Most of them now are things like banks or shops, but in all cases the exteriors and the interior entrances have been kept original, often with beautiful painting in the ceilings and statues around the walls. Always interesting to see an ancient Roman statue on the wall of a trendy clothing store. From Via Garibaldi we walked up some surprisingly steep roads to get to Belvedere Castelletto which provides some spectacular views of the city and the harbour.
After a quick stop back at the apartment we headed out to the harbour to check out the old port. For the most part the port is fairly modern, full of new yachts and boats, however the are a few remnants of the original port. The most obvious is probably the lighthouse, the less obvious is the overall shape up the port, which still matches somewhat the historical design.
After lunch we went to the maritime museum which explained a lot of the history of the port. For Genoa, being a port city surrounded by mountains, the maritime history is more or less the entire history of the city. The origins of the port are unknown, with only the last 500 years or so of the port development known, mostly the result of studying paintings and carvings depicting Genoa. It was a very interesting museum, despite most of the signage being only available in Italian. I’m learning to piece bits of sentences together, or at least I think I’m learning to.
We enjoyed a drink just outside the opera house, and after that headed to In Vino Veritas for a dinner of risotto. Stuffed full, we still managed to fit in some gelato on our way home.
Tomorrow we are off to Venice, so it will be mostly a train day.