In a similar vein to my photos of Rapallo, I’m going to admit to myself now that I’m getting behind with this blog and so I’ll have to do another job lot of photos to excite and delight my two loyal blog readers.
I rather liked Genoa, the old town is still full of small streets and interesting corners, there’s real evidence in the buildings at how powerful Genoa once was. There are few chain stores, just a lot of smaller shops which do add considerably to the atmosphere. That also makes for lots of small cafes, bars and restaurants, with supermarkets struggling to fit themselves around buildings.
The city does look like it needs a lot of investment, the marina area was improved a couple of decades ago, but there’s a lot of money still needed. I saw one “tourists go home” sign along the lines of those in Barcelona and numerous other cities, but I’m not sure Genoa can easily afford that little plan. I’m sure that Airbnb and the like are damaging, I hope they’re much more heavily regulated and taxed in the future.
It’s definitely a vibrant, and even grimy, city, but it does have some considerable charm because it feels authentic. It’s not as touristy as many other Italian locations and it was also a bit dented by air raids during the Second World War, but it’s still quirky and real.
One thing that I hear in the UK is something like “you don’t hear English any more”, which I’m not sure is entirely true given that just about everyone speaks it. Anyway, I won’t get political…. But, in many cities, English is the language I hear the most because of the number of tourists. That might be convenient for me, but it doesn’t really lead to an authentic charm when overdone. In Genoa, I rarely heard anything other than Italian, but the locals (or the ones I encountered in the hospitality industry) spoke perfect English and were all welcoming.
It’s a city that I would return to, I think it’s likely a harder city to penetrate and fully understand than many others, but I like places like that. I didn’t have time to visit the museums or the largest aquarium in Europe, but I’ll work my way around those if I come back. Anyway, now a heap of photos….
NB, several people thought that the figurehead looked like Richard, but I don’t comment on such things.
After my success earlier in the day getting to Rapallo on a modern and functional train, I thought it would be an easy matter to get a similar service to Genoa Airport. It transpired that it wasn’t.
The ticket purchasing was via machine and that element went well, so I meandered up to sit on the platform confident in my abilities to navigate the Italian rail network.
The view from the platform over the town square.
The sleepy town and its railway station which they didn’t burden their resources by actually staffing it. However, the whole affair is better than Deutsche Bahn, that’s something that I do need to mention.
The waiting room had a few seats, but it needed more and it hadn’t had the modernisation that most UK railway stations seem to have had which has put in not just more seats, but also power points. I found a validation machine in the waiting room, I think I would have put it on the platform rather than hidden around a corner, but I’m not an expert in these matters…..
The board was working, but these rickety old display systems don’t photograph well. Not that I’m complaining, but this said that the next service in was the one that I wanted.
This train trundled in and there was evidently a problem as there were lots of Italians asking each other questions. That meant they didn’t know what train it was and there was no signage which indicated which it was, something that wouldn’t happen on the UK rail network for all its faults. Anyway, that will be the end of my comparing the networks….. Unsure of what to do, I just got on this one as it was going in the right direction.
The train was clean and comfortable, with numerous power outlets. The on-board screens were broken and there were no announcements, but it was evident that I was on the wrong train as it was stopping at stations that I hadn’t expected it to.
However, after some slight concern that I was going to Milan, I realised that this train was actually heading to Genoa and so I could remain on board and just change in the city centre. Some quick Googling also showed me that I had boarded an RGV train rather than an R train, but my ticket was still valid. It meant that it was going to the airport stop that I needed, but at least I wasn’t going to end up somewhere a long distance away.
This all meant an unexpected stop back in Genoa city centre.
I popped to Carrefour to get some drink as it was so hot. I don’t think I’ve mentioned the heat in the last few posts but there were still Italians visible wrapped up in their coats whilst I was still fending off potential heatstroke.
I’ve had these a few times, they’re rather lovely and they calmed my stress levels. Actually, I wasn’t stressed, but it was a handy excuse.
Back on the platform, this is the train that I needed to get to the airport stop.
As a network, it’s evidently understaffed with nearly no-one about. If there is some crisis, it would take some time for anyone to be found to offer assistance. Fortunately, I was very brave and dealt with my little adventure on my own.
Here’s my Rock train sweeping in. My ticket was still valid and so I didn’t have to acquire a new one which made matters easier. Although it seemed unlikely that anyone would actually check the tickets.
This looked like the train I had been on earlier, so all was well as the on-board signage was good and indicated the train and I had the same plan on where we were going. Again, a fair few of the power outlets were broken but the working ones light up which makes it easy to establish this without plugging my phone into each one. I liked this train though, it was clean and comfortable.
And into Genova Sestri Ponente, which is the nearest railway station to the airport. It’s about a ten minute walk, but it’s cheaper than getting the airport service and I’m not made of money. And I like walking.
There’s the old bridge over the tracks to the left and the new one to the right. I’m surprised by looking at it that the old bridge hasn’t fallen down over the rail track, although I’m conscious that the Ponte Morandi road bridge in the city collapsed (my friend Liam must be a very good civil engineer as nothing he has built has, to my knowledge, fallen down) a few years and so I’m sure that this smaller arrangement is safe as it’s at least closed off.
The new pedestrian bridge and they’ve made this an accessible route to the airport as there’s a lift option here as well.
It is really quite a pleasant little walk to the airport.
The airport was constructed by using land reclamation, so much of this area is new.
And eating the last of my chocolates before heading into the airport.
As I’m getting behind with this riveting blog, I think that it’s easier to do a job lot of the remaining photos from Rapallo that intrigued me….. It’s a lovely little coastal town, they’ve been very brave coping with all the attacks made on them over the centuries.
This pretty little gate is the only surviving one of the five that once circled the town of Rapallo. The gate was constructed in the early seventeenth century, although the rather decadent Baroque style is more recent. I imagine that the town authorities had a bit of money one year and fancied tarting it up, perhaps because they’d already knocked the other four down. The destruction of the gates started early, as one was taken down in 1702 to improve access to the town.
The name, Porta delle Saline, comes from the nearby salt pans where seawater was once evaporated to produce salt. Today the gate is now doorless and it marks the pedestrian area of the town from the more car heavy outskirts.
I like a sculpture (I don’t get out much) as its reason for being is often more intriguing than the person who is represented. This one is Giuseppe Garibaldi who is best known for having a biscuit named after him, but he is also known as the Father of the Italian nation. And there are hundreds of these sculptures across Italy for that reason, although perhaps there are more than are really needed.
The sculpture is located in Piazza IV Novembre, the national Italian day which marked Italian victory (well, of sorts) in the First World War and securing the future of the nation.
Incidentally, one of my favourite facts about Garibaldi is that when he was creating the Redshirts to follow his radical political agenda, they weren’t named in some revolutionary fervour. It was rather more because he had got a job load of red shirts meant for slaughterhouse workers in Argentina.
Here’s the local hero Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) doing some more pointing towards his discoveries in the New World. The sculptor was Arturo Dresco and this was another little addition to the town which was paid for by those who had left it to go to the Americas.
The statue was unveiled on 21 May 1914 and it’s quite a substantial little arrangement with two groups of bronze figures as well.
And the main man and local hero…. I couldn’t find any actual link between Rapallo and Columbus, I think they just wanted to show their appreciation for their hero from Genoa. Which reminds me that one day I’d like to visit Columbus in Ohio, although that’s more because it’s the capital of the state rather than me going to places named after Columbus…..
Sitting overlooking the harbour is Rapallo Castle which was first built in around 1551. Its construction was linked to a rather lively visit from the Barbary corsairs, or pirates, who managed to raid and pillage the town. The Republic of Genoa, embarrassed by its earlier lack of foresight, promptly decided a castle might help deter further unscheduled visits from Dragut, who was effectively the pirate King although I don’t suspect that Disney will be making any movies about him in the near future.
And so here is the fortress that they plonked on the shoreline in an attempt to reassure the locals. The Barbary slave trade was more than just a few adventurous lads in ships. It was a devastating business, stretching from North Africa across the Mediterranean and deep into the European coasts. For centuries, these pirates, often with official backing from the Ottoman authorities, raided towns like Rapallo, scooping up men, women and children to be sold in slave markets from Algiers to Tunis. This was a huge problem and it decimated some Italian coastal villages and even impacted countries as far away as Ireland.
The view out from the castle and it reminds me of my visits to Malta which is where Dragut was killed in 1565. Dragut is revered by some for his naval talents, but he was also one of the largest slave traders and he attacked the poorest in society and caused terror amongst the weakest. His legacy isn’t forgotten in many coastal areas around Italy and other parts of the Mediterranean. It was all a grimly efficient enterprise and it must have made many reconsider their decision to live by the sea.
After the threat of piracy diminished, the building was used as a prison as it was just as effective at keeping in as it had been keeping them out. It further lost relevance after 1797 when Napoleon took control of the wider region. The building was restored in the 1920s and it was used by freedom fighters during the Second World War who wanted to overthrow the Mussolini regime.
There didn’t seem to be a huge number of food options in the town on a lunchtime in November. There were a few tourist looking places, a few takeaways and quite a lot of venues that were closed up.
This one looked nice, some tables in the shade as I didn’t want to get sun-burnt.
In true aperitivo tradition, a selection of snacks were brought out to the table.
The beer options didn’t surprise and delight me, so I decided instead to have a Aperol Spritz which is not really my usual drink of choice. However, variety is good for the soul, with the taste being rather agreeable. It was also quite a handy place for people watching and because I chose to sit out of the sun I didn’t have any problem with people smoking away outside.
I ordered a chicken burger and this was rather lovely, a soft bun, flaked coated chicken which was tender alongside some salad elements to add texture. This whole arrangement felt really rather continental and the service was friendly, timely and helpful.
Customers go inside to pay and the server quickly dealt with the transaction. She was conversational and personable, this felt like a genuinely friendly venue. The cost of the drink, burger and coperto (the service charge for the snacks) was around £12 which I thought was entirely agreeable.
The online reviews for this venue are positive, which is primarily why I tried it. It seems to have quite a lively atmosphere in the evening, although it’s relatively small inside, but they have plenty of outside tables to boost matters. All really rather lovely.
This rather attractive little music kiosk is situated near the waterfront and it was paid for by former residents who had left Rapallo. Millions of Italians left their country in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to settle in South America, mostly Argentina and Brazil.
Unveiled in 1929, it was designed by the architect Luigi Devoto and painted by Giovanni Grifo.
The underneath of the kiosk and it depicts the faces of some of the great composers, including Verdi, Mozart and Beethoven. Given its coastal location, it’s had to be repaired and restored numerous times but it looks in decent shape at the moment.
It’s really quite beautiful, this is the sort of thing that somewhere like Las Vegas, Warsaw, Shenzhen or Dereham should have.
I like travelling on rail networks overseas and I haven’t been on the Italian system much, so I thought that I’d have a little day trip from Genoa to Rapallo. It probably wasn’t the best idea to be taking the train for an hour in the opposite direction to the airport where I was getting an evening flight from, but I like a bit of drama.
This is Genova Brignole, the second largest station in the city and it opened here in 1868 although the current building dates to 1905. It’s spacious, grand and functional, with a ticket office and more helpfully to me, numerous ticket kiosks.
Mine was the 11:24 train to Sestri Levante. The eagle eyed one of my two readers will note that there’s an earlier train, but long experience has cautioned me against rushing for these things and making a mistake.
I went to the platform and realised that the ticket validators were all downstairs, so if I had rushed for my train I wouldn’t have possibly realised this.
My now validated ticket.
The station sign and there was an absence of staff anywhere, the only one that I saw was in the ticket office.
It was too hot, but I don’t like to go on about these things.
And here comes the Caravaggio train built by Hitachi, but better known as the Rock. They’re two tier trains and they look shiny and exciting.
Most of the power sockets were broken, but fortunately I found a working one so that I was charged up for the day. The train was clean, there were no visible guards, but the information screens were clear and informative. There were also some pleasant views along the coast as we swept along what is apparently known as the Italian Riviera.
And safely into Rapallo railway station, with the ticket costing around £4. I thought that this was reasonable and the train was on time, with the whole arrangement being easy and efficient. The return journey wasn’t, but more on that later.
