THE RAIN AIN'T STOPPING IN GENOA

Today there was  a message on my cell. It is from the Comune di Genova informing all residents of the city that there is very heavy rain and a very real possibility of another major flooding.

I only need to look out of the window facing the street to know that it is true: there is already a small river flowing. Luckily the apartment we live in, is high above the street level but this is still worrying. There has been a thunder storm for couple of hours now.

People are being asked to stay inside and not to go outside unless absolutely necessary. No doubt a major traffic chaos will follow. We all knew that it was coming as the cell phone messages keep coming, Last week schools were closed for three days. If the situation has looked to be somewhat under control in the city centre of Genoa, it was far from it elsewhere in Liguria, for example in Santa Marghareta Liguria and Chiavari. And today there are already reports of rising water levels in other parts of Liguria too (www.ilsecoloxix.it)

This flower stand has been on the balcony and quickly filled in with water in couple of hours. 

It was only barely a month ago that the heavy rains caused major flooding in the city centre of Genoa. One person died, many had to abandon their homes and cars in great haste and millions of euro worth of damage was caused by flash floods. An army of volunteers,  quickly named as the "mud angels" started spontaneously arriving to the city centre to clean the mud, dirt and water. I was not here at that time, but the damage has been visible to this day, especially in the Brignole area, where many shop owners lost their stock and had to close down, temporarily or in some cases for good. Unfortunately insurance companies do not come to the rescue as flooding is not covered in most policies. Some businesses have tried to salvage what they could by selling flood damaged goods outside their premises. What has angered the residents of Genoa is that a similar devastating flood happened in 2011 and the city received emergency funding for essential infrastructure repairs. Very little has happened though because there was a dispute regarding the tender process of who should be awarded the contract and the money is still sitting somewhere three years later.

RAINDROPS KEEP FALLING ON THE FLOOR

Back in Genoa after the holidays! Feels good. We went to Finland for Christmas and oh boy, it was dark, dark, dark - no snow whatsoever, quite unusual for this time of year and very depressing too. Normally, I would expect Helsinki to be closer to the temperatures currently experienced in Chicago. It was a quite a relief to arrive to Genoa, where we  enjoy at least a short periods of blue sky and rays of sunshine on most days, even though it is quite cloudy and rainy too. The temperature has been between +9 to +14 C this week, not bad at all. 

On New Year's eve we went to a party in Nervi with friends and staggered home at 4 am - something I have not done for about 30 years! Seriously. The first day of the year 2014 was a very quiet one... 

But last week it was time to get back into action.

For quite some time - almost a whole year actually - we have had a problem on the wall in the lounge area. Structurally, this wall faces outside and is therefore open to the elements. First, it was only a little stain on the wall, but last winter was quite stormy and with time this developed into proper rain damage and the plaster started peeling off at an alarming phase.We alerted the landlord early on, but apart from a visit to assess the damage, nothing has really happened for months. I have to say, that we have very good landlords and I mean it. If ever there has been the tiniest thing wrong in the apartment, they have repaired and fixed it in record time.They definitely have tried to get some action on this. But it is a bigger problem and clearly involves negotiations with other people who own properties in the same building. Essentially, it is probably a question of how to share the cost of structural repairs.

The whole thing got a little bit more urgent last week, because - apart from the peeling plaster - we also had a proper leak on the ceiling. There were couple of days of rain and clearly the weight of the water sitting on the roof became a bit too much. I went to the lounge and was surprised to get my socks wet, which made me to look up to the ceiling and notice the very big drops of water happily coming down to the parquet floor. A bucket and a large bath towel were on constant duty for hours. Luckily, the rain eventually stopped and we have been able to assess the seriousness of the latest problem a bit better. 

This week we have had a committee of people coming to see the damage. Measurements have been taken. The outside wall and roof has been inspected. Everyone is in agreement that it is a big problem. No promises have been made but the general consensus is that speedy action is necessary. We have been told that there is a plan to repair this, but it will take time.

This has also made us think one other issue: if  we ever decide to buy an apartment, the top floor may not be ideal. These old houses are clearly built for sunshine only. Farewell to my dreams of a roof top terrace. 

In the meanwhile, I have a bucket and a towel ready. 

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.