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: Liguria
Regions of Italy
Caught between the sea and the mountains (the Alps and the Apennine), Liguria has now 1.600.000 inhabitants. The position and the morphology of a steep and rocky territory, with very little space for agriculture and grazing and countless landscapes on the sea, has always influenced, for better or [...]
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Caught between the sea and the mountains (the Alps and the Apennine), Liguria has now 1.600.000 inhabitants. The position and the morphology of a steep and rocky territory, with very little space for agriculture and grazing and countless landscapes on the sea, has always influenced, for better or for worse, the thick and thin of a small yet densely-populated region. The nature of the Genoese has influenced its fortune. An old saying ‘ Genuensis ergo mercator’ (Genoese therefore merchant) spells out what these people are: sly traders, experienced – but not very reliable – bankers. Hence, Ligurian merchants and navigators imposed their supremacy on the world of trading and marcantile commerce. In the late Middle Ages the business of this Maritime Republic covered the entire Mediterranean area, the Strait of Gibraltar, Asia (Mesopotamia, China), are routes reaching North Africa, Sardinia, Corsica and the Black Sea (‘the Genoese lake’, in fact), due to its formidable naval and mercantile fleet. Columbus, Caboto and admiral Andrea D’Oria were all either famous Genoese or Ligurian navigators.
In the times of Napoleon, Liguria was annexed to France. After the Congress of Vienna it became (reluctantly) part of the Piedmontese domain (Reign of Sardinia). In the 1800′s historical figures like Mazzini and Mameli gave a great contribution to the Resurgence, while Garibaldi and the Thousand set off on their expedition from the well-known reef in Quarto. Nicolò Paganini is also a famous Genoese. In the 1900′s this land was the birthplace of illustrious poets like Sbarbaro and Montale, and of the Ligurian songwriters that bacame so famous in the ’60s.
Genoa, the ‘superb city’, is located in the middle of the Region, and of the splendid East and West Rivieras (the latter being sandier, and also known as ‘Riviera dei Fiori’, Riviera of Flowers). They both have some heavenly tourist resorts, e.g. the Cinque Terre, Portofino, the Tigullio, the Paradiso, Paraggi and Camogli (from the dialect ‘ca mogli’, ‘house of wives’, as husbands were navigators, therefore never home).
Thanks to the port and financial business, and to the automotive and shipyard industries, Genoa went through a huge economic boom in the first decades of the 1900. Then, due to the crisis of families of businessmen first, and of bigger companies later, the city went through a period of decline, which was followed by a decrease in population.
Recently, however, Genoa has been regaining artistic and tourism prominence, due to various initiatives, among which the restoration of the historical centre (Palazzo Ducale, Porto Antico and “carruggi”). The artistic and cultural life of the city is yet animated and interesting thanks to its excellent stable theatre, the reconstruction of the Carlo Felice opera house, and numerous and marvellous art museums, such as Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo Rosso.
