Since 1992, when it celebrated the 500th anniversary of its famous native son's voyage to America, Genoa has been reinventing itself as a tourist destination.

This year, the reinvention culminates as Genoa assumes the mantle, bestowed by the European Union Ministers of Culture, of "2004 European Cultural Capital" and presents 12 months of special events, festivals and exhibitions.
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OF PALACES AND EXHIBITS
EXPLORING THE SPLENDOR OF GENOA'S OLD CITY

New York Newsday.com
BY Erica Marcus
Staff Writer
April 25, 2004

Perched midway between two world-beating vacation spots - the French Riviera and Tuscany - Genoa is largely overlooked by travelers to Europe. Italy's sixth-largest city is best known to Americans as the birthplace of Columbus and salami, but since 1992, when it celebrated the 500th anniversary of its famous native son's voyage to America, this Mediterranean port has been reinventing itself as a tourist destination.

This year, the reinvention culminates as Genoa assumes the mantle, bestowed by the European Union Ministers of Culture, of "2004 European Cultural Capital" and presents 12 months of special events, festivals and exhibitions. (And about that salami: Almost every region of Italy produces a dry-cured pork sausage made for slicing, but it's true that Genoa's salame Sant'Olcese, the model for our "Genoa salami," is one of the very best.)

Genoa - or Genova in Italian - is not Italy's easiest destination for Americans to read up on; there is a dearth of English-language resources. But the upside is, once you're there, a dearth of hordes of English-speaking tourists.

Unlike Venice or Florence, Genoa has few restaurants and stores that cater to tourists, American or otherwise, and so experiencing real Genoese life is much more likely. And perhaps because they are not plagued by tourism as are, say, the Florentines, the Genoese tend to be exceedingly helpful.

A city of 93 square miles, Genoa could occupy you for weeks. I stayed for four days and concentrated on seeing the restored palaces of the old city, reputedly Europe's largest medieval quarter.

Long live the Doge

The first stop on a tour of Genoa should be the Palazzo Ducale, or Doge's Palace, which sits on the border between the old city and the new. Like most Italian cities, Genoa had a long history as a republic; it was run first by an elected capitano del publico and then, from 1339 until 1809, by a doge, a leader elected by the nobility for a two-year term.

Even though it no longer houses any government office, the Doge's Palace, completed around 1620, is still Genoa's focal point. Viewed from the south, the palace offers an imposing neoclassical carved facade, but turn the corner to the east and the same architectural style is rendered in paint. In fact, the trompe l'oeil facade is one of Genoa's most characteristic styles. Perhaps it started as a cost-saving measure, but now the frequent juxtaposition of real and fake architectural detail lends the city a unique appeal.

Much of the Doge's Palace has been converted into modern gallery space, but some of the historic rooms are still gloriously intact. The most impressive of them is the chapel, a large frescoed box decorated with important scenes from Genoa's history. Fresco is the technique of working pigment directly into a wall's plaster so that the painting becomes part of the wall. I've seen scores of frescoes in my Italian travels, but they tend to be too closely guarded - or, at the very least, roped off - to permit close inspection. These frescoes you could lick if you cared to. Or you could simply look very closely, noticing the lines inscribed into the plaster to guide the artists' painting and the energetic brushstrokes.

The first Christian Crusade was launched from Genoa, and scenes of the Genoese forces taking Jerusalem adorn one chapel wall; on the opposite wall is a rendering of the relics of St. John the Baptist being presented to Genoa's bishop. My favorite scene was the one of Columbus' discovery of America. You might think this would have presented a problem for the artist, since Columbus sailed for Spain, but the artist has him enthusiastically planting in the ground of Hispaniola not a Spanish flag but a large cross, while in the background one of his men destroys a pagan idol that looks much more like Michelangelo's David than an American Indian ceremonial figure.

The main event at the Doge's Palace until July is the art exhibit "The Age of Rubens: Genovese Homes, Patrons and Collectors," which is the centerpiece of the year's festivities. The Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) came to Genoa as a young man and forged patronage relationships with the city's ruling class, becoming, in effect, Genoa's leading painter. He was so impressed with the urban design of Strada Nuova (New Street), home of the city's richest families, that he wrote and illustrated a book about it.

(Strada Nuova was renamed Via Garibaldi after the hero of Italian unification; when I strolled the street in March, workers were digging and hammering furiously. Once restored, the palaces of the Strada Nuova will form one integrated exhibition space that I was told is due to open in May.)

There's something endearingly modest about Genoa's decision to center its main exhibition not on the work of a native Genoese, but on a world-famous foreigner whose long association with the city lent it his seal of approval. "The Age of Rubens" chronicles the artistic connections between the city's great families and the artists who painted for them. Works by such Baroque masters as Caravaggio, Titian, Veronese and Ribera have been recalled from their current museum quarters all over the world to temporarily take up residence in their original home in Genoa.

Adjacent to the Doge's Palace is the church alternately known as Il Gesu (it was the local seat of the Society of Jesus) and Saints Ambrogio and Andrea. It houses two spectacular paintings by Rubens: "St. Ignatius Healing a Woman Possessed" depicts a signal moment in the life of the founder of the Jesuits, and looming over the altar is the Rubens masterpiece "The Circumcision of Christ."

Rising from Mediterranean

Tired feet are an occupational hazard of visiting Genoa. As you'll see when you drive in from the airport, the old city is built on a slope that rises straight up from the Mediterranean. Think San Francisco paved with cobblestones. Moreover, taxis and buses are a non-issue; many of the streets are no wider than a supermarket aisle. At first glance, the maze seems daunting and endless, but most of the main attractions lie within a square mile, and there are signs to them everywhere.

As you're wandering around, remember to look up. You'll see flower-filled window boxes, statues of the Virgin Mary, clotheslines and exposed ancient bricks. The tops of many doorways are adorned with carved friezes depicting St. George - the fellow who killed the dragon. Genoa's Banco san Giorgio was one of Europe's first banks (founded in the early 15th century), and these friezes identified the homes of its governors.

(George was later replaced as the town's patron saint by St. John the Baptist when the latter's bones were brought to Genoa's cathedral, named, for some reason, San Lorenzo. The bones, along with a glass plate on which the decapitated saint's head was said to be served to Herod, are on display in the cathedral's Museo del Tesoro di San Lorenzo.)

Along the water

The one place where the old city flattens out is the old port, the Porto Antico. Abandoned for centuries, it was refurbished in 1992 and is dominated by Il Bigo, a huge derrick designed by Genoese architect Renzo Piano expressly for hoisting a passenger chamber that, at its 200-meter height (about 36 stories), offers a panoramic view of the harbor. While the old port is the pride of many Genoese, it reminded this New Yorker of the South Street Seaport. It's a wonderful place to take the kids - there's a children's museum (la Citta dei Bambini), as well as one of Europe's largest aquariums.

Just across the highway is Via di Sottoripa, a sort of porticoed boardwalk with stores, restaurants, tackle shops. On a fair afternoon I walked west on Sottoripa and out of the center of the city to visit what may be Genoa's grandest palace, Palazzo del Principe, built in the 16th century as the home of Genoese naval hero Andrea Doria, for whom the ill-fated '50s cruise liner was named. Still owned by the Doria-Pamphili family, the palace once had a magnificent view of the water; it now has a magnificent view of Genoa's version of the FDR Drive.

Inside are portraits by Bronzino and del Piombo, among other Baroque masters, and a spectacular series of tapestries depicting the 1571 naval victory of Giovanni Doria (Andrea's heir) over the Turks at Lepanto, a gulf separating the Peloponnesian peninsula from mainland Greece. The audio guide for the Palazzo del Principe was by far the best one we encountered - and we encountered a lot.

Palazzo fatigue. That's Genoa's other occupational hazard for visitors. There are just so many halls of mirrors, Honda-sized chandeliers and trompe l'oeil ceilings you can focus on before your eyes start to glaze over. Still, Palazzo Rosso and Palazzo Spinola are both worth a visit, the former for the Van Dyck paintings and the latter for the haunting religious painting "Ecce Homo" by Antonella da Messina, the 15th century Sicilian master.

Thankfully, even more numerous than the palaces are Genoa's bars and cafes, where a restorative espresso is always waiting.

What's next

Here are some highlights of Genoa's 2004 calendar. For a complete list of events, visit Genoa's official Web site, www.genova-2004.it. Note that all details are subject to change and that new events will be added. Frequent travelers to Italy know that its best to double and triple check dates and times before planning your trip.

The Age of Rubens. Genovese Homes, Patrons and Collectors, at the Palazzo Ducale through July 11; www.palazzoducale.genova.it.

The Cetaceans. Nature's Ocean Liners, through Sept. 30, at the Aquarium of Genoa; www.acquariodigenova.it.

Chagall and the Bible. At the Jewish Museum through July 23; www.genova-2004.it.

The Culture of Genovese Patrician Homes and the Invention of the Rolli Palaces. Palazzo Tursi, May 5-Sept. 5; www.palazzoducale.genova.it

Transatlantic Ocean Liners, Museum of the Sea and Navigation. June 19- Nov. 1; www.genova-2004.it.

From Bronzino to Rubens: Masterpieces From the Durazzo Collection. At the Museum of Palazzo Reale, July 14-Oct. 3; www.palazzorealegenova.it.

Further researching

Web sites

www.genova-2004.it
The official website of the city.

www.italiantourism.com
Italian government's North American Web site

www.babbonyc.com/italytravel-liguria.html
The travel section of the website of New York restaurateur Mario Batali (Babbo, Lupa, Otto, etc.) features a lot of good restaurant recommendations.

Books

"Milan, Turin & Genoa" by Nicola Williams (Lonely Planet, $14.99). Last updated in 2001, this contains some out-of-date information, but is the only Genoa guidebook readily available in the U.S.

"The Heritage Guide: The Italian Riviera" (Touring Club of Italy, 26 Euros) is available in Genoa. I bought mine at the Touring Club of Italy store right in the Doge's Palace. A thorough and insightful guide to the region.

"Italy for the Gourmet Traveler" by Fred Plotkin (Little Brown, $22.95). An invaluable guide to the regional cuisines of Italy that includes restaurant recommendations. I never travel to Italy without it.

"Recipes From Paradise: Life & Food On the Italian Riviera" by Fred Plotkin (Little, Brown $39) More than a cookbook, this offers great insight into the culture and history of Liguria and Genoa, its capital.

New York City: Exploring the splendor of Genoa's old city
http://www.nynewsday.com/travel/ny-trmain3772108
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