On our last day in Calabria (you can read all those posts on my blog, under the Calabria label, we drove on the Autostrada A2, or Autostrada Mediterraneo, over and around towns and the Aspromonte mountains to the Lamezia Terme International Airport, where we flew north to the Liguria Region of Italy to the city of Genoa. This was not our first visit to Genoa, as my husband has aunts, uncles, and cousins that live there, but on this visit, we were able to experience the city for the longest period of time and feel like true Genovese!
(Please enlarge each of the following series of airplane window photos by clicking on them--that way more detail can be seen)
As our airplane approached the Genoa area I was mesmerized by the views from my window. I could see very clearly the very blue Ligurian Sea, and all the boats moored in the small harbors and coves along the coast.
The Apennine Mountains border the eastern side of the city.
An even closer view of the mountains and shoreline
A view of the high-density city of Genoa. It is the sixth largest city in Italy by population, and one of its major economic centers.
As you can see when you click on this photo to enlarge it, most of the residential buildings in Genoa are larger apartment buildings. We stayed in an apartment near the soccer stadium, the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, which can be seen in the upper left near the Bisagno River.
Now a portion of the large Port of Genoa, which is the largest and busiest in Italy.
In the port, you can see passenger and container terminals, shipyards and other industrial and cargo industries, and marinas where sailboats and yachts are moored.
In the center of the view above you can see the Lighthouse of Genoa, also referred to as the Lanterna. At 249 feet (76m) it is the world's fifth tallest lighthouse and the third oldest lighthouse in the world.
We were so happy to see our relatives again, including two cousins from the island of Sardinia that were visiting. My husband's uncles are in their 90's, yet are active and robust. We spent much of our time with them, enjoying their company in Genoa, but did take a few days to take trips to Lake Maggiore, Verona, Padua, and Bologna.
What were our first impressions of Genoa? It's a city of old and new standing side by side. A city where history seems alive. A city where the hustle and bustle of busy city streets that are filled with motorcycles galore meet grand tree-lined boulevards and grand villas and palazzos surrounded by gardens. Where ancient city wall remnants are surrounded by modern apartment buildings. A city of friendly people and delicious cuisine.
Genoa is the historic birthplace of the explorer Christopher Columbus, and this public park displays his three ships, the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, made with flowers. I was excited to see this again, after seeing it for the first time on a trip to Italy I made when I was a senior in high school. Old memories mingled with new on this trip.
I'll be showing the historic medieval part of Genoa in my next post, with the old fishing district neighborhood called the Boccadasse, both truly the most beautiful and interesting parts of the city.
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