Day 2- Getting To Know Genoa

After a good two cups of coffee, I went off like an eager child at their first day of school. The first stop was to get the “Card Musei”, a museum card which is great value for money. Via Garibaldi is a car free road and probably Genoa’s finest road. It has been added to the UNESCO Heritage List. This is where the crème de la crème of Genovese society used to live. All the palaces on the road had a great selection of local and Flemish painters. While I took my time to admire the frescoes of the Pallazzo Rosso (Red Palace) the real highlight of the Rosso was to get access to the rooftop where I had a great view of the city, the Pallazzo Bianco (White Palace) was much larger. To be honest, I don’t have a learned eye for art, and while I took cognizance of the mastery of these painters, my concentration soon waned.

The Palazzo Doria-Tursi houses a museum to the genius of Genoa, Niccolo Paganini, Paganini was a wildly gifted violinist. The main item on display is his famous violin called “Canone” which gets played once a year.

It is very easy to miss the other two palaces, both are now utilized by private companies, but Pallazzo Lomellino has a beautiful courtyard which I am sure is used by every bride and groom for their wedding pictures. My last area of exploration on this amazing road was the Palazzo Spinola.

I then did a very steep walk up to the Castello D’Albertis, Captain Enrico D’Albertis was one extraordinary adventurer and collector and his castle houses many of the treasurers he brought back. The Museo Delle Culture Del Mondo (Museum of World Cultures) is also housed here, and while it is not over laden with exhibits, it still feels quite sparse but is impressive none the less. The best thing about the castle are the gorgeous views from where the statue of Christopher Columbus is.

After having some delicious Italian ice cream, I proceeded to get blissfully lost as I set out to find the Palazzo Reale, This allowed me to see the areas where probably very few tourists have been and get a better understanding of the city. I finally found Reale. This palace was opulent and way too big, it is hard to believe that a palace of this size was used by one family. I soon noticed that there was a recurring theme in Italian museums, that you get followed everywhere, I don’t think it is that they don’t trust you, I just think they don’t want you to get lost, it got quite overbearing.

Just when I thought I needed a break from palaces and art, I visited the Galleria Nazionale (National Gallery), this was another palace owned by the Spinola family.

I needed time to relax, so off I went to the marina to spend some time with my brother on the yacht, after an hour of relaxing I realised that my museum card was going to expire, so I pushed my brother and I to the new Galata Museo del Mare, the entrance fee is quite expensive, but any boat buff or maritime maven would go dilly in this new museum.

I had seen all but everything I wanted to see in city, I was not that excited about the idea of going to the Acquario (aquarium) and being elbowed by little kids.

We went for a big carnivorous dinner which involved a lot of good Italian wine and Italian beer. After the meal, I wanted to go and explore the night spots, the prostitutes must have outnumbered the open pubs by about 10 to 1 and I found a pub recommended by my guidebook-Quattro Canti. The pub was as lively as an old age home after ten in the evening.

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I again used my Lonely Planet as a resource tool to write this blog.

Pic 1: Pallazo Lomellino
Pic 2: View from Castello D'Albertis. The marina on the left is where the yacht is.
Pic 3: Galata Museo Del Mare