June 27 - Start out today at the Pillar of Shame.
Interesting history on this pillar, however. It was erected in memory of the betrayal of Giulio Cesare Vachero, a Genoese adventurer who was part of a 1628 conspiracy against the ruling family of Genova in favor of the Savoys. The latter wanted to incorporate Liguria into their domain. Giulio was one of the conspirators executed for this, and his house was torn down on this spot.
This leads us to the unique history of this city and Liguria in general. Genova's construction dates back to the fourth millennium BCE, making it one of the longest-continuously inhabited cities in the world.
Its port has historically always been one of the largest and busiest. This undoubtedly helped raise it to become one of the most powerful maritime empires, competing with Venice. It had a long heyday, from the 11th C to 1797. The competition for preferred trading partners in the Mediterranean went back and forth for centuries, with Genova securing important trading rights with the Byzantine Empire after 1261.
Two of the world’s earliest banks, the Bank of Saint George, were founded here in the 15th century. One could speculate that by the 16th century, Genova was helping to keep both the Spanish Empire and the Habsburgs afloat through loans and trade agreements.
By the 18th C, Genova had lost most of its satellite trading ports to other powers, and was crippled by the loss of its domains in Corsica during the Corsican Revolution, then losing Sardinia to the Austrians in 1746.
When Napoleon sauntered in to claim Liguria and Lombardy in 1797, the city could be plucked like a fruit. After Napoleon’s fall, Liguria would be bundled into the Empire of Sardinia and governed by the House of Savoy.
We split up so I can visit a few museums and Janet can take Odette to the aquarium. The first one I visit is Museo del Risorgimento, which deals with 19th to 20th C history.
This museum deals with the unification efforts of Italy. One of the important leaders of this was Giuseppe Mazzini, who was born in Genova. His political activism spanned from the early 1800s to his death in 1872, and he was one of the founders of the movement called ‘Young Italy’. In the end he was not so happy with how Italian independence was achieved (under the rule of the House of Savoy), and during his life was arrested several times and sent into exile.
Guiseppe Garibaldi was the other character who got more than one floor of this museum dedicated to his exploits. He was a follower of Mazzini and also a member of Young Italy. He led military campaigns that helped secure Italian unification and independence. Unlike Mazzini, he decided, during the Second Italian War of Independence (1859), that a republican ideal was impossible for the country, and instead fought for the House of Savoy to take over.
This is ironic, considering the whole reason behind the Pillar of Shame above!
From here I visit the Musei Nazionali di Genova - Palazzo Spinola. This is a 16th C aristocratic home (palace really) that moved from family to family over the years.
The House of Spinola was one of the leading families of Genova in the 13-14th C.
However, the palace itself dates from the 16th C, built by members of the House of Grimaldi.
Walk up the hill for an overview of the city.
Meanwhile, Janet and Odette were taking photos at the Aquarium of Genova. Odette went crazy with photos and videos here and took hundreds. I will show only a few.
Afterwards we meet up for lunch and stop by Basilica di San Siro, just up the street from our apartment.
For the second time today, walk uphill for a view, this time to visit D’Albertis Castle. This castle-like residence was built between 1886 and 1892 under the supervision of Gothic Revivalist Alfredo D'Andrade. It is on the site of a 13th C fortress that had been renovated in the 16th C. Upon his death in 1932, the owner donated it to the city. It now houses the Museum of World Cultures, which we did not go in to see. Much of the exterior is being renovated, so there were limited photo opportunities.
One last long walk from here down to the area around Porta Soprana and along the old city walls for a distance. Then across a bridge to the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta in Carignano. The interior of this church is very plain, but with good statues.
