A Day in Nervi

Today, for the first time in weeks, the weather was nice enough to go down to the sea.  Between the rain, snow and generally freezing temperatures, we haven't been much inclined to leave the house much less go near the water.  This has been an extraordinary winter, possibly the coldest in the last hundred years for much of Europe, and Italy has not escaped the bite of the freeze.

But, today the sun was out, the temperatures were mild and we needed to get out of the house.  So, early this afternoon, we boarded the #15 bus and headed to Nervi.  Now, two things require some explanation at this point:

First, we are Californians.   I haven't taken a bus since I was in high school and I'm not sure Ollie has ever taken a bus.   Buses don't come naturally to us.  But, the bus system here takes you everywhere, and it's cheap. 1.20 euros for 90 minutes or 32 euros for unlimited bus rides for a month.   Gas today, on the other hand,  is over $7 per gallon.  And, that doesn't include the cost of car insurance, maintenance and parking, that is if you can find parking.

Second, Genoa is a big city geographically.  18 miles wide by 6 miles deep,  Nervi, appropriately called Genova Nervi, is  part of the city of Genoa and is at the furthest eastern end of the city about 7 miles from where we live, in an area known as the Levante.  It has a charming downtown area with chic little shops and streets lined with citrus and palm trees.

But today we were on our way to the Passeggiata Anita Garibaldi, a 2 km long walkway above the Ligurian Sea.  Named after the wife of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Italian national hero and commander of the troops of the Risorgimento (the troops who fought for the unification of Italy), the Passeggiata extends across the length of Nervi and is a favorite walkway for local Italians, their children and dogs.

 

 Above the Passeggiata is the beautiful Parco Gropallo 

  

This is what we came to see.  That's the Portofino Peninsula in the background.

The golden building jutting out over the cliff is the Saracen tower.  Genoa was one of the four Maritime Republics including Pisa, Amalfi and Venice.  Constant watch for invaders from the sea was a fact of life in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Another view of the Portofino Penisula with the town of Camogli visible in the middle.

  

This is a hotel jutting over the sea.  

  

  

Today was one of the parades leading up to Carnavale.  We missed the parade, but there were dozens of children in costume still playing on the Passeggiata.

  

  

Kayaking is very popular here, not to mention sailing.  That's one of the many cruise ships that come to port in Genoa in the background.

 

This plaque commemorates the long years that Shalom Rabinovitz, know as Sholem Aleichem, the great Yiddish writer and author of the story of The Fiddler on the Roof, resided in Nervi.

 

What are you doing down there?

 

Heading east towards home on the bus with the snow-covered Maritime Alps (or Maritime Apennines, don't know which) in the background.

Tomorrow if the weather holds we're going to a museum.  Don't know which yet, but anything to avoid the 2nd of 3 Ikea flatpacks.