A tour of Genoa

The historic center, the largest in Europe, begins with the old port, Porto Antico, a symbol of Genoa’s glorious past and the emblem of the modern city. Among them, the famous Genoa Aquarium, museums: marine and Antarctica, a panoramic lift, the port of Vacca, the first city gates and the “country” of entertainment for children. From here began the crusades and conquests that created the commercial power of the semi-pirate republic, and now it is the center of evening light, people of different nationalities, cultures and restaurants. Stop at the Palace of San Giorgio, St. George, along with John the Baptist is the patron saint of Genoa, through the Piazza Banki, the first currency exchange point, go to the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, the place of worship of the first Christians as early as 5-6 AD and became the heart of the city in the 11-15 century. Here, in the treasure museum, according to legend, there is the Holy Grail, and also, in the tomb, the relics of John the Baptist, brought by the Crusaders from the campaigns, rest. Next, proceed to the Doge’s Palace, where the authorities of the republic lived for centuries, and now, the center of cultural events and exhibitions.

From the square de Ferrari, with the famous opera house Carlo Felice, close to the house of Columbus and the port of Soprana, the legendary city gate of the era of Frederick Barbarossa. The medieval wall will lead to Campo Pisano, where eternal rivals in naval wars, the sailors of Pisa, were held captive.

The footpath of Nuova, now Via Garibaldi, with its palaces of the 15th-17th century, is elegant and rich in the houses of the richest people of that period, Doria, Fieschi, Palaviccini. Many of them have now become museums: the Palazzo Rosso, the Palazzo Bianco, the Palazzo Tursi, where the Paganini violin is stored, the works of Guarnieri.

There are also collections of Genoa painting, and the street itself is under the auspices of UNESCO. For those who do not tire of wandering through the medieval alleys, you can offer to see the unmade face of Christ in the church of San Bartolomeo degli Armeni, S. Bartolomeo degli Armeni, founded by Armenian monks in the 14th century, which is, along with the relics of John the Baptist, the subject of special veneration. In the church of Jesu, a beautiful example of the Baroque paintings of Rubens and Guido Reni, nearby, on St. Matteo Square, there are palaces of the patricians of the period of bank speculation and usury, and around, there are still a huge number of historical relics of different centuries, antique shops and restaurants, where such different people as Giuseppe Verdi, Alexander Dumas, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Joseph Conrad or Guy de Maupassant loved to relax.

Despite the fact that two or three hours is not enough to recognize Genoa, I believe that we managed to do everything possible so that our tourists could appreciate the unusual and new, even for those who were born here.