Genoa: amazing architecture

While we were in the Cinque Terra in 2018, we took a day trip to Genoa, the capital of the Italian Riviera.

Monument to Christopher Columbus in Genua

We traveled by train to the Genova Piazza Principe train station, which is very close to the old part of town and to most of the sights that we wanted to visit. As soon as we walked out of the train station, we were greeted by a monument to the city's most famous explorer, Christopher Columbus. Yup, Columbus was born and raised in Genoa, a city with a long tradition of sea-fairing.












Genoa was once  an independent Kingdom, from 1005 to 1797, including Corsica from 1347 until 1768. The overlord was officially the Holy Roman Emperor of the German Nation, who was usually absent, and so the Bishop of Genoa was president of the city, but the real power power was in the elected "consuls". Genoa was therefore called one of the "Maritime Republics" (Repubbliche Marinare), along with Venice, Pisa, and Amalfi. Genoa had one of the largest and most powerful navies in the Mediterranean, which was made possible by its trade, shipbuilding and banking.

Hall of Mirrors in Palazzo Reale

Our first stop was at one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, The Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace). Construction started on the present structure in 1618 for the Balbi family, and improvements were made throughout the rest of the seventeenth century. It was sold in 1823 to the Royal House of Savoy, which ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until 1946. The palace is every bit as fancy as you would expect of a seventeenth-century royal family, complete with its own Hall of Mirrors.

Hallway in Palazzo Reale

The frescoes and paintings are beautiful and fascinating. We especially liked the classical Greek stories, such as the Torture of Prometheus. Prometheus created humanity from clay, and was humanity's protector and benefactor. He defied the gods by stealing fire and giving it to humanity. As punishment, Zeus bound the immortal Prometheus to a rock, and every day an eagle, the emblem of Zeus, was sent to eat Prometheus's liver, which was thought to be the seat of human emotions. His liver would then grow back every night, only to be eaten again the next day.

Fresco of Prometheus by Giovanni Andrea Carlone
in the Galleria della Cappellain in the Palazzo Reale

Hercules defeating Cerberus in the
Galleria della Cappellain in the Palazzo Reale

Prometheus Creates Life from Clay

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Every royal palace needs a throne, and Palazzo Reale is no exception

Throne room in Palazzo Reale

There was some beautiful inlay woodwork too.

 And a beautiful mosaic around the fountain in the courtyard.

Courtyard of Palazzo Reale

We went along the shore and saw some indications of Genoa's naval history. The largest Aquarium in Europe is on the left-hand side of this photo.

The Bank of Saint George was founded in 1407 and was named after the patron saint of the city. (The Genoese transferred their allegiance from Saint Lawrence to Saint George at some point during the 11th or 12th century, most likely with the rising popularity of the "warrior saint" during the Crusades. ) The bank was located in the Palace of Saint George, which built in 1260 by Guglielmo Boccanegra, uncle of Simone Boccanegra, the first Doge of Genoa.
The bank is among the oldest in the world and the first bank in Europe. It was founded to consolidate the public debt that had grown to finance the war with Venice over trading and financial dominance.  Many of Genoa's overseas territories were governed either directly or indirectly by the Bank. In 1453 the Genoa handed over governance of Corsica, the colonies in Crimea and around the Black Sea, and a number of other possessions to Bank officials. Over the course of the fifteenth century, the Republic gradually reclaimed many of its territories from Bank control.
After Napoleon invaded Italy, he suppressed independent banks, and this led to the bank's closure in 1805. Today, the building houses the sea-port authority.









The cathedral in Genoa is also impressive. It was built between the 12th and 14th centuries with money from the successful enterprises of the Genoese fleets in the Crusades.





















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The Museum of the Treasury lies under the cathedral and holds a collection of jewelery and silverware from 9 AD up to the present. Among the most important pieces are the sacred bowl (it:Sacro Catino) , referred to as the Holy Grail. The source of this belief is Jacopo da Varagine , who recounts in the Genovese Chronicle that, during the first Crusade ( 11th century ), the Genoese soldiers under the command of Guglielmo Embriaco took part in the taking of the city of Caesarea ( 1101 ), coming into possession of what was thought to be the plate of the Last Supper of Jesus.
The basin has a hexagonal vase of bright green transparent material. At the time it was taken to Genoa it was believed to be emerald.  After Genoa was conquered by the French under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806, the dish was brought to Paris,  and it was determined that that the dish was made of Byzantine crystal and not an emerald.  When it was returned to Genoa on June 14, 1816, it had been broken into 10 pieces, one of which is missing. Since then, it has been the subject of various restorations: the first in 1908, then in 1951, and most recently in 2017. The later studies would confirm that the dish is an Islamic artifact of the ninth or tenth century.


Every visitor to Genoa has to visit  the Piazza De Ferrari and see the fountain there. In the photo behind the fountain is the Palazzo della Nuova Borsa, the new stock exchange.