Urban Restoration and Renewal...and excellent pesto!... in Genoa

Last weekend, my Italian Urban Studies class took a field trip to Genoa in the Liguria Region, north of La Spezia and Cinque Terre. Genoa is known to have the biggest historical center in Italy. Visiting Genoa was like visiting a neglected city. It was once a grand metropolis, extending over modern Liguria, Piedmont, Sardinia, Corsica. After the Crusades, Genoa even obtained colonies in the Middle East, Sicily, and North Africa. Venice and Genoa, the two major port cities, were always competing. Throughout the 15 and 16th century Genoa was financing Spanish voyages to America. By the 1700's it was the financial capital of the World. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the industrial triangle - between Milan, Torino and Genoa - industrialized the city. The city abandoned its aesthetic beauty and became and industrial, port city. By the 1980s, the port city faced great problems of prostitution and poor immigration. The purpose of our trip was to see the improvements made by Renzo Piano who redeveloped the Porto Antico or old harbor in the 1990s-2000s. He restored the historical building and created landmarks like the Piazza del Mare, Aquarium of Genoa, the Bigo, and the Bolla or Sphere. What caused this sudden attempt at urban renovation?  The Celebration of Christopher Columbus in 1992, the G8 Conference in 2001, and then the naming of Genoa as the European Culture Capital of the Year in 2004, to promote tourism, all forced a rapid revamp of the city. It catalyzed the renewal movement that would bring thousands of tourists and restore Genovese people's civic pride. 

It was an interesting experience to say the least. I think it is definitely a city worth visiting if you are in Northern Italy as it is a city with enormous potential for development. I do not think I would go back anytime soon but I would love to see the improvement of this once wealthy city and capital of Italy. It was like a whole city surrounding South Street Seaport in NYC before its' renovation. It is the largest medieval city in Italy with a labyrinth of the tiny streets, called Caruggi, making it very easy to get lost. On our tour, we saw the beautiful Piazza De Ferrari, Cathedral of Genoa, and went down the infamous Via Garibaldi (formerly known as Strada Nuova) which is on the World Heritage List of UNESCO. It is known for its beautiful, ancient banks turned palaces that line the entire street. We had a delicious traditional Genovese lunch at Locanda Spinola, an authentic Genovese restaurant we stumbled upon. We all had Taglietti (some sort of thick square pasta only made in the southern Liguria region of Italy) with potatoes and string beans in pesto sauce, we toured the city some more and went to the aquarium! It's the second largest in Europe and Genoa's main tourist attraction. After the aquarium, we went down Via del Campo, a famous street with many songs written about it. It was red-light district and is now an area of poverty filled with poor immigrants. Contemporary Genoa is a good example of a process of renovation and re-invention that in the last decades has touched many European cities such as Barcelona.  Many European cities in the post-industrial Europe have operated to recuperate their neglected cities. Overall, the trip gave us a glimpse of an Italian city that is trying hard at urban renovation and restoration. I think Genoa has a lot of potential and I hope that the Italian government will continue to revive this once great Medieval city

The Five Lands

Ciao amore! This weekend, my friends and I went to Cinque Terre in the Liguria Region of Northern Italy. This UNESCO World Heritage Site was one of the most beautiful place I've ever been to in my lifetime. I knew it would be amazing before I left because several other students who had been there before me have raved about it so much. Some even praised it to be "their favorite place in Italy," but even so, I truly was taken aback. To see the sites in person, from sea level to hundreds of feet in the air, were all just full of incredible natural beauty.

Between each of the mountains are five quaint seaside towns on the water, Riomaggiore,

Corniglia, Manarola, Vernazza, and Monterosso. It was an adventurous and fun weekend complete with lots of hiking, stunning views and natural beauty, prosecco, pizza and dancing under the stars. On Saturday morning, we took the train to La Spezia, and a connecting train to Riomaggiore, the first of the five towns.When we started the hike that early morning, it was foggy and cloudy, but still very beautiful. For a minute, I forgot I was in Italy because it reminded me of some Nordic seaside mountain range. The hike from Riomaggiore to Manarola along Via dell' Amore (Lover's Path) was extremely easy - so easy - I was unimpressed. I had no idea what I was in front of me. Once we arrived in Corniglia, after climbing over 400 steps and hills to get up there, it was starting to get increasingly difficult.

After the long hike to Corniglia to Vernazza, we were so tired that we took a long lunch break and rested by the sea. Lucky for us, the sun eventually came out while we were in Vernazza! The belltower and colorful houses sparkled in the sun, as small fisherman's boats bobbed up and down in the calm, iridescent blue sea.

From Vernazza, we hiked the most difficult mountain of them all - a two hour, 3 km journey to Monterosso. After sweating profusely and nearly passing out from the narrow trails hundreds of feet above sea level, we arrived in beautiful Monterosso al Mare. Luckily, we found a hostel apartment that fit exactly eight people as soon as we got off the mountain. We quickly put our backpacks down, changed and headed to the beach where we immediately jumped in the ocean. Submerged into the cool and crystal clear water, my body was instantaneously relieved from the physical stress of the arduous hike. That night, we went out to dinner for my friend Sophie's 20th birthday. Walking back from the restaurant, we passed by the beach and noticed an Italian dance party with a live DJ and decided to join in. At first, I could tell the people surrounding us were a little apprehensive about the eight American girls barging in on the dance floor, all obviously buzzed. However, after a couple of songs, and a few genuine attempts at Italian line dancing, we were in with the crowd and made a few friends. It was a very fun night in a stunning place. I hope that everyone gets a chance to go here at some point in their lives. I can't wait until the next time I go back already.