THE CHRISTMAS CRIB MIRRORS REAL LIFE IN NERVI

It has been a very busy couple of weeks: a quick trip to Milan, Christmas concerts, the hunt for Christmas presents in all kinds of little markets around Genoa and  generally speaking, a very long list of things to do before the holidays. So, it was really nice to have a long, relaxing lunch today with couple of friends and go for a stroll on the passegiata Anita Garibaldi afterwards. What a warm, sunny day it was - in the middle of December! There was also another reason to go to Anita Garibaldi: the local Fishermen's Club of Nervi has built a Christmas Crib (presepio) and we all wanted to see it. 

    The Christmas crib  exhibitions are common in Italy this time of year. Even though this tradition is mainly associated with Naples, there are some famous presepios here in Genoa too. This time of year there is one in every church but cribs are also displayed in company offices, doctor's surgeries and other public places. Many people have one at home too. There are specialised stalls selling all the bits and pieces in Christmas markets where it is possible buy customised pieces for the whole scene together with the Holy Family. Large presepios often tell the story of a particular place and the fun factor is created by including real-life people in it - such as the local butcher or baker or even the mayor or some other big wig. 

Here in Nervi, the Christmas Crib is a very carefully re-constructed scene of the small harbour, close to the Passegiata, down to the smallest detail. Anyone who has ever visited this place knows how accurate this miniature world is - it must have taken hours and hours to built it. On the foto above, Passegiata Anita Garibaldi is on the far right and the bench - with two people sitting on it - is positioned exactly where it is in real life. On the far left there is the communal swimming pool, which was re-opened last summer. On top of the buildings, the railway line features miniature trains going back and forth. 

Here is the same scene from a different angle. Note the small boat being pulled to the main land in the middle. The big tower in front of the swimming pool is part of Collegia Emilia, an old school and a well known landmark in Nervi. 

This is further down the road, towards Quinto and Quarto. Those cars actually move on the road!

The Holy Family is discreatly positioned on the side of the whole scene, in a quiet spot - somewhere along the Passegiata Anita Garibaldi, seeking shelter in a simple structure. 

On the walls of the Fisherman's Club, next to the Christmas Crib, is also a very interesting collection of historical photos of Nervi. Judging by the display of these old postcards, nothing much has changed - luckily... 

LIGURIAN GHOST TOWNS PART 2

It was nearly lunchtime and we were very much looking forward to finding a small trattoria in Castelvecchio, a tiny village few miles from Zuccarello.

The bus took us up the mountain road and as soon as we reached our destination and stepped out, we were greeted with cold and clean mountain air. Our driver, Roberto, parked the bus on top of the hill and we walked down the stone steps, following  a sign pointing to the historical centre. Castelvecchio was established by the Clavesana family in the 12th century and I imagine that those steps may have been there for a very long time indeed (well before the invention of cars, anyway). 

It soon became obvious that November may not be the best time to come here if you expect to be fed. We must have made quite a noise descending to these old streets, but not a single person came out to the window to check who was disturbing the peace.

  We did wake up one cat, though. She was having a well earned mid-day nap  next to a vespa and she did not look too pleased to see us.

The autumn colours on trees and wall creepers were absolutely stunning in the sunshine.

Don't get me wrong - I would not have missed this place for anything, it was just so unexpected to be wondering through a totally empty place.  It was a bit creepy, to be honest. But very,very beautiful.

After seeing at least two lifeless trattorias, we saw a third, which seemed to be open. The door was open and we were met  by the owner, who said that they were not open for business, unfortunately.
"Everybody are out picking olives, that's why all the places are closed," he said.
A-ha. That explained a lot.
We walked back to the bus and Roberto drove us through the mountains, crossing the border from Liguria to Piedmont. Next stop Garessio and luckily, an open restaurant, Osteria del Borgo Antico, served us a delicious meal.

Ormea was an unplanned stop, but after lunch we had a brief walk in the immediate surroundings. Very close to the restaurant, there was a house with several trompe l'oeil paintings. This is still a skill strong and alive in Italy.

The light was fading already and we made one final, very brief stop in Ormeo.

The air was cold and crispy, already late in the afternoon. But I have to say that the snow peaked mountains were a perfect ending to this day. Amazing, what you can see and do in just one day!

LIGURIAN GHOST TOWNS PART 1

There are places in Liguria impossible to explore properly unless you have a car. So, my friends Mary and Chantal had a great idea: let's hire a small bus, get a small group together and explore the Ligurian countryside. Who knows what we may see? Armed with various guidebooks, we left Genoa early on Tuesday morning. None of us had ever been in Albenga, Cisano sul Neva, Zuccarello, or Castelveccio before. Mary had done a lot of research on the places we were expecting to visit, so we had some idea of the history and main sights. The sky was bright blue and the air crispy and cold, a perfect day to be a tourist! 

An hour and a half later we arrived to Albenga, 46 km from Savona. This town has one of the most well preserved medieval city centres in Liguria, dominated by four impressive towers. The Cathedral of Albenga, dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel, has a very unassuming and modest entrance from the main street, but the interior is full of interesting art work and historical details. 

Frescoes on the wall and paintings on the ceiling of the Cathedral in Albenga - watching them was like being in a time machine, catapulted back to medieval times. It was particularly nice to see that this ancient church was by no means preserved for historical purposes only. Quite a few locals were coming in to have a quiet moment. We were definitely the only tourists. 

Very close to the Cathedral is the early Christian Baptistery (built between fifth and sixth century), said to be one of the oldest Christian monuments in Northern Italy. There is a rare mosaic of a blue, starry sky inside the Baptistery. The Museo Diocesano was just opening when we got there and even though we did not have a lot of time inside the museum, we did manage to see the copy of Caravaggio's work of John the Baptist. The original is in Kansas City. But there were many other interesting paintings too and three walls were covered in large tapestries, full of rich details. 

After this suitably large dose of art and culture, we strolled along the streets of Albenga for while. I came across this ginger cat, which definitely had seen a camera before and happily posed for photos.. 

We were soon back on the bus and continued towards Cisano sul Neva, a walled city since 13th century. The 8-seater bus was parked in a tiny piazza and we got out. An old man stopped to say hello and pointed us towards an alleyway with his walking stick (first, I thought that he was telling us not to park on the piazza, but he just wanted to make sure that we not miss the most beautiful part of this little village!!). Have to say, that it would have been a pity to miss the view from this bridge.

There was a small private garden on one side of the bridge with a persimon tree....

....and the cactus with a tiny flower looked so exquisite in the November sun.

Cisano sul Neva might be a tiny dot on the map of Liguria, but it was one of those delightful places, where you would like to photograph every inch of it. Interesting details - such as this stone bench - everywhere.

For example, this dark and mysterious alleyway (see below)would be a perfect back drop for a murder mystery or a horror story. The old wheel and all! Location scouts for Hollywood movies should not miss this place.

Eventually we had to leave and get back to the road. We stopped to view couple of pretty castles from outside and then drove on to a tiny place called Zuccarello, established in 1248, with many signs of medieval structures preserved to this day.

This lady is Ilaria Carretto. She was born here and was daughter of Carlo, 1st Marquis of Zuccarello. She married Paolo Guingi, Lord of Lucca. The wedding was a society event of the year, I guess, as it lasted 3 days and 3 nights according to the sign next to the statue. The couple had 2 sons, but tragically Ilaria died after giving birth to her second baby. She was only 19 years old. Paolo must have been beside himself with grief and he commissioned a monument in her honor. The original monument, made by Jacopo Della Quercia, was  in 1407 and can still be seen in Cathedral of Lucca. The bronze statue  in Zuccarello is a much more recent creation by Flavio Furlani (2007).

Zuccarello's streets were totally empty, but there was some signs of activity: Christmas decorations were on display on the bridge and around the piazza. Couple of workmen were putting in the final touches. Again, all shops were closed with shutters and big padlocks. What else would you expect on an ordinary Tuesday in November? I think it started to unnerve us a little bit: the fact that we did not see any people about. 

We were clearly visiting Zuccarello couple of days too early, as there is going to be a big pumpkin/harvest festival this weekend, on 1st December. 

  Zuccarello may definitely be one of those places where Italians from the big cities of Milan, Turin and Genoa come to relax during the summer months, possibly having a second home there. On this November day it looked so totally dead and deserted. But little did we know that the Zuccarello was not the only "ghost town" around this area on winter time... (to be continued tomorrow). 

THE WAITING GAME AND GETTING READY FOR WINTER

Still no buses in Genoa. The strike has been on since Tuesday this week and today is the fifth day with "no service available" signs on the bus stops. All mediation efforts have failed so far and the newspaper headlines are declaring that this is now a war on privatisation. I know too little about the politics behind this issue to comment - all we can do is to minimise the need to go to town, use local services as much as possible and wait. 

In the meanwhile, life goes on: This week we put the heating on for the first time in ages.The temperature has dropped considerably and it has rained heavily almost every day. It is pretty dark already at six o'clock in the evening. Out came the hotwater bottles (they really work) and woollen socks (equally effective), candles in the evening too. Christmas lights have gone up at least here on Nervi high street, a sure sign that winter is not far away now.
  Tonight some friends are coming for an aperitivo and no doubt the ongoing bus crisis will feature in our discussions, but it has been a busy week and it is great to have a quiet time at home.
(Just now  my phone said "ping" with a message:"I am so sooorrry, cannot come tonight because of the strike..." Aaaaargghh!!!!) 

AMT BUS STRIKE HITS GENOA TWO DAYS RUNNING

There has been no buses for two full days now. It is still possible to get to town by local train, so it is not a total disaster, but the strikes are affecting everyone who relies on public transport. Usually, a strike is announed in advance and it starts conveniently after 9 am when everyone has been transported to work. The traffic starts flowing again later in the afternoon, so that people can get back home. Not this time. 

The bus strike has not affected local trains, operated by Trenitalia, so it is possible to get to the city center.  But trains do not go as frequently as buses so for many people  that means leaving home earlier and coming back later than usual. 

 The buses have not moved from the depos at all. Yesterday I watched a very noisy and loud demonstration in the city centre of Genoa. Hundreds of people marched towards the offices of the municipality, where the decision to privatise  the public transport provider AMT was being discussed. There were loud bangs and singing, especially when the march reached a tunnel, were the sound was amplified many times over. It sounded like a gun battle - which is wasn't, of course. There is a real fear that jobs will be lost and in this time of very high unemployment, it is a depressing prospect. Hopefully, a solution will be found soon - but in the meanwhile, no bus service in the city. 

BUS STRIKE IS A SIGN OF A CITY IN CRISIS

If you don't speak Italian, but would like to know some useful words, I suggest that you add the word sciopero (a strike) into your vocabulary. Once you start noticing this word, you will realise how often it appears, especially on the noticeboards on bus stops. Today was one such day as the city wide AMT bus network stopped for 4 hours.  

   As a family, we use the buses every day to go to the centre of town and we have not even thought about getting a car as the public transport system is pretty good. Buying a car and getting it registered is not quite as straight forward as one might assume and furthermore, finding a parking space in town can be a mission too. There is also the issue of where to keep the car overnight, if you cannot park in front of your street: buying a garage space for the car can be a very serious investment indeed. 

 Bus strikes are quite frequent in general. It is not unusual having to find alternative methods of transport
 at least once a month. 

  But there are clearly tough times ahead as far as public services are concerned. Today's strike was prompted by plans to privatise the AMT. Opionions for and against are running high.

A leaflet appealing for public support informed travellers that the municipality of Genoa is planning to privatise the public transport system and that this will mean increasing the prices of tickets and cuts in service. "People will be transported like cattle in the Third World", it predicts. 

Currently, it is very cheap to use the public transport as one bus ticket costs Euro 1.50 or Euro 1.60, if combined with bus and local train travel (bought from the tabaccheria).  It is valid for 100 minutes from the time it has been stamped. Unlimited changes of buses and trains are allowed during the 100 minute period.
  Not a bad deal, but obviously ticket prices are heavily subsidised. An Italian friend also made an interesting comment about why the AMT is in constant financial difficulties: the truth is that the ticket inspectors do catch quite a lot of people travelling without a ticket. Not wanting to pay for public services is almost a national sport, my friend said. It remains to be seen what will be the future of public transport in Genoa. In the meanwhile, we are not heading to the car show rooms. Not yet, anyway. 

Perhaps a scooter or a vespa? It is pretty quick to zip through the city with one of these, but being forced to breath petrol fumes does not appeal either. 

   

  

  

   

A FAMILY FAVOURITE: ZUCCHINI CAKE

Italians are great in inventing all sorts of savoury tarts and cakes. One particular recipe has become a firm family favourite: Cake Salato alle Zucchine, which could be translated simply as a savoury zucchini cake.  I learned this from an excellent book called Lezioni di Cucina: Un Corso completo fotografato step by step. This is dead easy to make and actually tastes better the day after baking.

Don't worry if it is not perfect when you take it out of the tin. Leave the cake to cool and it will firm up so that it can be sliced nicely. 

You will need:

180 g flour
3 zucchinis
100 g pancetta or cooked ham in small cubes
150 g ricotta
50g parmigiano
1 onion
3 eggs
100 ml olive oil
100 ml milk
1 tbsp baking powder
salt, pepper, herbs

1. Cut the zucchini in small cubes and fry with onion. Add  pancetta or cooked ham cubes to the mixture. Add salt and herbs.

You can add other veggies into this mixture too - I happened to have some red pepper in the fridge, so I threw it in. 

2. Mix eggs with milk and olive oil in a separate bowl. Add flour and cheese together with the zucchini, onion and pancetta or ham and the rest of the ingredients. Mix well to incorporate all the ingredients.

3. Line a long bread tin with kitchen paper. Pour the mixture into the tin. Bake about 1 hour in 190 C. Test with a skewer before taking out from the oven, if it comes out clean the cake is ready.

This makes a great snack for a crowd - just cut in bitesized pieces and enjoy!

CHASING THE STORM

There was an almighty storm last night. So much so, that floods have been reported in some parts of Genoa.
But this morning the storm had moved on and the weather seemed to have calmed down. I decided to have a little stroll on the Passegiata Anita Garibaldi in Nervi to see what the damage was.

Only couple of months ago this beach club was full of people enjoying a very hot weather under the umbrellas. 

It turned out to be a very pleasant day, mostly sunny too, temperature around plus 18 C. The sea had a different sound though, angrier than normal. But for some people it was the perfect opportunity to try and test the elements: members of the local canoeing club were out enjoying  some white water rafting and fishermen were trying their luck, too!

Canoeing in these conditions requires a lot of skill and it is clearly a lot of fun too! 

GINGER ICE CREAM? WE GOT IT!

It may be November and the winter is approaching fast, but ice cream is still firmly on the menu for the Italians. There are numerous gelato bars in Genoa alone and come a sunny day, there might even be queues outside the best ones regardless of the time of year.

  One particularly popular ice cream shop in town, U Gelato du Caruggiu, on Via San Bernardo #91 in the centro storico, is a magnet for gelato connoisseurs looking for unusual flavours.



Moreno and Barbara make approximately 25 different ice creams  every day.

Yesterday I went together with other members of the American International Women's Club of Genoa (AIWC) to learn how the owners Moreno and Barbara, a husband and wife team, transform such humble ingredients as milk, butter and eggs into an ice cream base where different flavourings are then added afterwards. We were able observe the process through a glass window while Moreno explained the technical details. He stressed how important it is to get the balance of the ingredients right. Be aware, that if your ice cream starts melting the minute you get the cone in your hands, it has not been made correctly.

Chesnut and rosemary make an interesting change from the normal "vanilla-strawberry-chocolate" choice.



Barbara with the very delicately flavoured icecream: violet.

We were given small samples to taste of all the flavours and my absolute favourite is ginger, quite a sharp and spicy ice cream with lots of character. Regular customers are also raving about zabaglione, cinnamon, ciocco frizzy and hazelnut icecream (nocciola)....





A MOMENT OF PEACE WITH MUSIC

I recently walked in the area of Piazza Banchi in the centro storico. I have passed this place quite a few times while exploring the city, but not noticed that there is a tiny church, elevated on top of the shops. The doors were open, so I went in. It happened to be a bit of a grey autumn day, around noon.

Piazza Banchi and Chiesa di S Pietro.

As soon as I stepped inside the Chiesa di S Pietro I heard beautiful classical music and quite a familiar tune too. I have heard this piece before but could not remember the composer. It really did not matter. I soon felt totally at peace with myself and the rest of the world. Far away was the huzzle and buzzle of the street and the city.

  Curios about the history of this place, I picked up a leaflet in English at the entrance, where it was explained that the church was built during the second half of the 16th century on the ruins of another church. The original church was destroyed by fire. The architects, Taddeo Cartone and Daniello Caselle, modelled this new church on Basilica Assunta in Carignano.

There are beautiful frescoes just outside the entrance, up on the ceiling.

A REMINDER OF LAMPEDUSA

The island of Lampedusa, off the coast of Sicily, has for a long time been a gateway for people wanting to escape for a better life in Europe. The most recent boat accident, where 300 migrants - mainly from Eritrea and Somalia - lost their lives in early October, is only the latest incident and I fear, not the last. In the city centre of Genoa, on Piazza de Ferrari, there is currently a very eye catching reminder that this problem is not Italy's alone.

This banner, hanging outside Palazzo Ducale says it all: "Deaths again. Lampedusa is not the graveyard of hopes". 

Vittorio Longhi commented on the Guardian online (www.theguardian.com):

"So why do Eurocrats keep investing in security measures? Why don't they focus on a shared asylum policy, on serious multilateral agreements between transit and receiving countries, on building search-and-rescue capacity in the Mediterranean, on the full respect of the right to international protection?

Europe cannot go on sealing its borders and pretending not to see what's going on in the south, especially in still-troubled Northern Africa, and in a continent with growing poverty, along with a food and health crisis. Increasing social conflicts inevitably result in harsher repression by authoritarian regimes and therefore in further asylum-seekers, just like the Eritrean young men and women who drowned in Lampedusa."
Well said.

ITALY'S ANSWER TO NORDIC NOIR: IL COMMISSARIO MONTALBANO

I have a bit of a crush on actor Luca Zingaretti. Well, not on him personally, but on the character he is playing in Italian television series Il Commissario Montalbano (Inspector Montalbano). In the series, based on detective novels by Andrea Camilleri, Zingaretti is Salvo Montalbano, a Sicilian police inspector, who solves crimes in a small town called Vigata. The state-owned Italian broadcaster RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana) commissioned the series in 1999 together with  Swedish television. It has become an international hit and is available on DVD with foreign language subtitles. The BBC is currently showing some episodes.The success has also generated another series called Il giovane Montalbano (Young Montalbano), which is about the start of Salvo's career and his very first cases.

   I have only seen season 1 & 2 of Il Commissario Montalbano so far, but I am hooked and there are several reasons why. 

   Firstly, it is happening in Sicily. The camera carresses the gorgeous landscape in every episode, the sun is shining all the time. The Sicilian tourist office can certainly relax now, we have all put Viagata on our list of all important places to see. In reality, Viagata does not exist. The show was filmed in the region of Ragusa and several other locations. It is heavily edited to give an impression of a perfect Italian holiday location.

   Secondly, Salvo Montalbano is a very different type of a police officer compared to his colleagues elsewhere in Europe, especially in the Nordic countries. There are murders but no detailed close-ups on post mortems or discussions about methods of killing people. Salvo visits the scene of the crime for briefest of moments in general and never takes notes. His right hand man, Fazio (played by Peppino Mazzotta) is the one who always goes out to find out more and comes back to report the results. Salvo's deputy Mimi Augello (Cesare Bocci) has constant problems with women and is basically quite useless as a police officer but is capable of helpful action when it counts.

   The Montalbano stories are an interesting mixture of relationships and old fashioned community police work. Salvo is not operating in a vacuum. There are plenty of cultural references, yet it shows that Italians can have a bit of a laugh about their own peculiarities and national characteristics.

   In the Nordic noir (Wallander, Killing, Bron) work is the only thing that matters to the officers because they are normally divorced or mentally unbalanced or alcoholics. There is no humour whatsoever. The police inspectors and detectives are incapable of any kind of human warmth, solving crimes with efficiency, spiced with gunfights, clever computer work and  the latest surveillance equipment.  

   Not Salvo. He talks to the neighbours of victims, who are always able to give him a lot of information about lifestyle, family ties, sexual histories and frequently offer their own theories of the possible perpetrators and motives of the crimes. Salvo lives in a luxurious seaside villa. He swims every morning in the open sea and loves spagetti with fresh sea urchins, enjoyed with robust red wine. Salvo has a girlfriend, Livia, who flies in from Genoa every now and then. Mostly they talk on phone. Salvo is relatively faithful, but what can a man do, if there are supermodel types with Sophia Loren lips walking around? We are all wondering, if Salvo is going to give into temptation or not. Often he is not, but you can understand the struggle the poor man goes through.

    The Nordic crime writers and producers of television series could perhaps take a deeper look into the world of  Il Commissario Montalbano. The current assumption that detailed descriptions of extreme violent acts and expert knowledge of forensic crime scene investigations is what is needed to create "entertainment" could do a little shake-up.

  

  
  
  
  
  
  

STREET MARKETS: EVERYTHING FROM CARROTS TO FUR COATS

  A friend staying in Milan came for a visit and  and I went to meet her at Brignole station. Since I arrived early and there was still time before the train arrived, I decided to take a little stroll around the little streets around Brignole. To my utter delight I stumbled upon a street market selling antiques on Via Galata, only 5 minutes walk from the station. As soon as my friend arrived, I suggested we go back there to check what is on offer. She agreed and we ended up walking up and down the market for couple of hours inspecting every single bancarella, tables covered with suitably aged goods, such as decorative glass bottles and stoppers, handbags, jewellery, books, posters, dolls and numerous other small items.

   I love all kinds of street markets in general and Italy is an especially good country to visit these. Every local area have their own monthly or weekly veggie, fruit and general goods market. A street stall can be as simple as a lorry stopping for some hours in the street near you - here in Nervi there are regular opportunities to sample Sardinian cheese, wine and salami every Monday and Thursday on Via Oberdan and often during the weekend a fruit and vegetable lorry stops there as well. Organic farm produce is sold on Wednesday mornings in the little park near the Commune.
   On Tuesday mornings one can have some serious savings and real bargains in Quinto, where at least hundred stalls are selling clothes, shoes, underwear, bags, fur coats (looked real to me), bedlinen and sheets, kitchen utensils, children's clothes and many other things. In these times of financial distress, this type of a general goods market makes a tight household budget a little bit more flexible. Bus number 15 stops right in front of the market.
    Sometimes it is tricky to find out when and where the markets are happening. So, when I went back the following week to check if the antique market is on at Via Galata, it wasn't. It happens only once a month, on a Thursday of the second week of the month.
  Then there is a big antique market on in and around Palazzo Ducale every first weekend (Saturday and Sunday) of the month (www.genovantiquaria.com). I recently went there and came back with collectable Danish Christmas plates (10 euro a piece), vintagle ear rings, old postcards of Genoa, one vintage compact powder case and an unsual leather handbag from the 1950s (in truth, it is a bit difficult to open, but once you figure out how the little key works, it is possible to use it on special occasions).

If you are a foodie, the monthly market in front of Palazzo Ducale is the place to discuss the finer points of Italian delicacies.

  The same place in front of Palazzo Ducale (via San Lorenzo side)  is transformed into a regional gourmet food market every second Saturday and Sunday of the month. I am now a regular custormer for a nice nutty rye type of bread from South Tyrol. There are also unusual country type cheeses and salamis, olive oil, wine and plenty of other delicacies. However, no bargains on this market. It is a serious meeting of foodies. These farmers/producers are particularly keen for you to sample their product. That one bite should tell you the difference between the product that is for sale here and the one in the supermarket. Italians can definitely taste it.
  I was just about to finish this by saying that the City of Genoa could do a bit more to advertise these markets, when I saw a little booklet John had left on my desk: Calendario degli Eventi Fieristici in Liguria 2013. He had picked it up from the tourist office and it has a list of all regular events, festivals and markets in the whole of Liguria. No more detective work needed!

  

LA FESTA IN THE HARBOUR

There was a small festival last night in Nervi in the small boat harbour, at the end of passegiata Anita Garibaldi. We saw an advertisement promising food, drink and music and decided to wonder down the harbour area in the early evening to have a look.

   The local fishermen's association had transformed the tiny square into an outdoor restaurant with long tables  and benches. There was an air of informality. Tables were covered in plastic cloth, secured in place with brown packaging tape. Simple, but efficient.

   Even though the weather - which has been absolutely gloriously sunny and hot for couple of weeks now - turned into a thunder storm with light rain later, it did not spoil the festive weekend athmosphere. People still came to the party: families with small children, elderly couples, teenagers...

  After buying a ticket, €8 per person for food and drink, we found a free table  and sat down to enjoy the evening. Teenagers volunteering as waiters and waitresses came to inspect the tickets and then brought us a plastic plate of freshly cooked fish with pieces of bread covered in tasty tomato sauce and a glass of deliciously cold white wine.

   Then the rain started and everyone ran to seek shelter in a covered area. We found another table and met a very nice Italian family. We even managed to have a conversation in Italian with them. Luckily, they also spoke some English so we got the basics covered.  

  A Rwandan band was supposed to be performing but sadly that was cancelled due to the weather.  Neverheless, the evening continued in all the other small restaurants and bars along the harbour.

   We went home happy. 

   This was the first time we had a strong sense of having participated in something benefitting the whole community.  After last night one other new feeling has started to take shape as well: perhaps this is now a little bit our neighbourhood too.

  

  

  

  

  

  

PILLARS OF SHAME

Everyone has heard about monuments built in honor of something or somebody. But the Genovese have gone one step further: in this city there are monuments in order to remember something that is shameful or disgraceful. There are at least two pillars of shame (colonna infame) in the city centre. My friend Mary took me to see one of them and it has actually been put there to shame the city of Genoa itself.

This pillar of shame can be found very close to Museo di Sant'Agostino in Piazza di Sarzano.

This particular pillar is a reminder of the fact that when the city of Genoa decided to re-built a specific part of the historical centre, they destroyed a whole neighbourhood in the process, including the birth place of violonist Niccolo Paganini. Even though a new house has been built nearby to mark Paganini's birth place, it is not quite the same say those who would have preferred to visit the original one.



On top of the pilar, there is a proverb saying "Do no evil, have no fear". There is also list of all the original neighbourhoods which were destroyed in the building process: Marina, Via Madre di Dio, Via del Colle, Portoria, Sarzano e Ravecca. At the end there is a quote from Franz Lizt:  "There will never be another Paganini".

GONE TO THE BEACH!

It's hot. It's humid. No air in the apartment.
It is easy to understand why the whole of Italy is practically closed in August.
For the past couple of weeks day temperatures have reached well over +30C every day in Genoa and some days even  up to +40 C in the afternoon. We have tried to keep one room cool with the air-conditioning unit and windows open everywhere else. Keeping the window shutters down helps too, but who wants to sit in a dark apartment with lights on when there is bright sunshine and glittering waters nearby?
There is only one remedy. Must find a beach.

This is not a difficult mission as there are beaches everywhere. One of the best things about Genoa is that it is so close to all the pretty little villages/small towns along the Ligurian coast, all easily accessible. Yesterday we went to explore Camogli - pretty little seaside resort town only 20 minutes from Nervi by train and simply followed the crowd. Bingo! They were all going to the same place as us - the beach.
   Once you have found a beach that looks promising, there are usually two options - paying for sunchairs and an umbrella or trying to find a free spot in the sun. The Genovese are famous for being careful with money. Basically, nobody wants to pay and therefore the search for a free piece of beach is a popular sport.
   The paying option becomes pricey very quickly, if one wants to meet the waves more than once a week. There is normally an entrance fee (say €10 euro per person). A sunchair is another €7 per person and an umbrella €5 optional extra for half a day (from 9 am to 2 PM or from 2PM to 7PM). Yesterday it cost us €30 for the family for a half-day in this particular il bagno  but on the plus side there was a  restaurant/bar/cabins/toilets/beach shower and a life-guard on duty. The chairs were not particularly comfortable and they were in a row of ten other chairs, but the umbrella was a good size giving well needed shade.

  A beach is not always full of white sand or any sand for that matter. In Camogli the beach was made out of small pebbles which meant that the small distance from the towel to the sea became a humiliating acrobatic exercise, especially attempted with bare feet.  The pebbles were like hot coals in the heat of the day.  We made a mental note to buy cheap plastic shoes for the next time...

 
  

 

  

 

 

ROUGH EDGES

Yesterday I was walking in an area in centro storico, better known as Maddalena.

This is a particularly lively part of town, practically in the backyard of Via Garibaldi, one of the main tourism attractions. It is full of character with  quirky little shops selling vintage clothes, bags and shoes (not necessarily cheap) and food shops with special pasta and olive oil to die for (try olioteca Le Gramole on Via dei Macelli di Soziglia).  Being a small and compact place, a casual stroll will soon lead to a particularly noteworthy church, the Santa Maria Maddalena, which is actually an active parish with a community feel, and not just a museum piece. I was on my way to another landmark in the area, Palazzo Spinola,  which does not look much from the outside but is rich in velvet, silk, antique furniture and paintings inside. The real depth of this area can only be appreciated with repeated visits as something new always catches the eye.

    But it does not take long before something else registers too: the number of prostitutes along the narrow alleyways. Groups of quite young looking girls stand idly in the street corners, in dresses, which would not look out of place in a disco or a nightclub, but are a slightly comical choice of clothes to wear in the full afternoon sun. Stylish jeans teamed up with generously open t-shirts,loud lipstick, smoky eyes and lots of mock gold jewellery were giving the same message to any passer-by. Loud popmusic was coming out of one open window. These streets may not be a pleasant place to be during the night time, but I was not feeling particularly threatened as it was only 4 PM, full day light and plenty of people around. I was surprised though to see so many girls, chatting or catching a dance step or two.

  Prostitution is legal in Italy, but establising a brothel or pimping is not. There are many sad stories of human trafficking and violence against women, drugs and desperation. In the Maddalena area, the local shopkeepers are not happy about having such an open display of a different kind of trade on their door step as potential customers for other than sex are inclined to take a quick shortcut to a safer looking side of town as soon as they see the girls. Neighbourhood action groups are trying to find a solution to the problem. For the time being the shopkeepers and the girls are forced to tolerate each other. It is an uneasy relationship.

GENOA THROUGH THE CAMERA LENSE

I had an amazing weekend - a 2 day photography course with Di Mackey (www.dimackeyphotography.com) in Genoa. Di lives in Belgium, but has been coming to Genoa since 2008. She organises photography courses and workshops especially here as she loves the city and wants to return to Genoa time and time again. 
   I have been firmly in the group of snappers, who mainly trust the automatic functions and - I am ashamed to admit - have barely given the camera manual a casual glance, if that. But I have felt for some time that it would be interesting to learn more, getter better pics and understand the science behind it, hence the course with Di.
  During the weekend Di and I walked around the city, especially in the centro storico area, where it is always easy to find something new, an intriguing detail or a landscape where beauty is often combined with rough edges. When you walk around with your camera ready, even frequently visited places start looking different and inspiring.

   Take Palazzo Ducale, for example, which is one of the first landmarks anyone visiting Genoa learns to recognise. This is a buzzing cultural centre with museums and cafes, but also a place where people come to walk in the beautiful atrium, seeking shade during the hot summer months, listen to music or participate in a debate. Often these events are free or there is a small entrance fee.
Inside the Palazzo, there is currently an unusual installation called "Timeology" by Lorenzo Petrantoni, a graphic designer and an artist, who uses historical images to tell a story.



These pillars have been transformed into vessels for an art installation.

  This time Petrantoni's  collection of black and white images are on the pillars, full of fascinating details, collage of images. They come alive on closer inspection. Playful and fun, these images are of people and events from Genoa's historical past.

Petrantoni was born in Genoa in 1970, studied graphic design in Milan, then moved to France to work there. But after returning to Italy, he wanted to take a break from the advertising world and started to concentrate on his own art instead. 

When we came back later in the afternoon to Palazzo Ducale, we noticed that there was clearly a free concert on offer. A Campagna, a folk music group with musicians, singers and dancers, performed traditional songs and dances from Genoa. They sing in genovese, the local dialect, which is difficult to master unless taught by someone who has used it on regular basis. Even native Italian speakers struggle to understand this dialect.

Members of A Campagna group in their traditional costumes.



 Most people in Genoa know some words in genovese, but less and less people can actually speak the language anymore.  In the past, perhaps a century ago, genovese was actively used in all verbal communication. People were even able to tell which part of the city someone comes from based on their accent or some words they used. A Campagna is dedicated to keep the language alive.

Genoa is full of free events. Take your seat and enjoy! However, especially with concerts, it is customary to give a small donation afterwards as a token of appreciation.