"Everything is Uphill" or, Life in a Vertical City

Of course not everything is uphill, but it certainly feels that way, especially living as we do above the Circonvallazione a monte, or the upper ring road. This is a series of roads, that traverse the center of the city midway up the mountain from Piazza Manin in Casteletto quartiere, thru Lagaccio quartiere, Oregina quartiere and dropping back down to sea level at the train station Stazione Principe in the Pre quartier.  From this vantage point, you can find some of the most amazing views of the city and some of the prettiest neighborhoods.

 A view of the port from the terrace of the Castello d'Albertis

Originally these hills were part of a defensive system including a string of walls and fortresses protecting the city from invaders from the North.  But, since the crescent that forms the city is so shallow, there was no place to build but up, and up, and up. 

Looking uphill from Piazza de Ferrari...

...and downhill from Casteletto into the Val di Bisagno, one of two rivers that bisect the city.  Actually, it's called Torrente Bisagno which translates as "stream" and is much more appropriate for the 5 inches of water generally found there.

Although there are plenty of roads, much of the city is built around the creuse,  Genovese dialect for a network of walkways made of cobblestones or bricks.  Most are quite steep, generally with stairs and handrails on the sides and an even path down the middle.  They take you into almost rural neighborhoods, often with high walls or beautiful gardens, but completely inaccessible to cars and often to motorcycles.  When you wander the creuse, which is not for the faint of heart, you wouldn't know that you are in the middle of Italy's 5th largest city.

This picture doesn't show how steep this street is, but I would estimate around 25 degrees.  Whatever it is, it's hard going with a few bags of groceries, and this is only the last quarter of it.

The barriers at the foot of the stairs are to deter vehicles from driving up the stairway.  This is Italy after-all.

There are hundreds, possibly thousands of sets of stairs including this one which connects Piazza Corvetto with Corso Solferino on the Circonvallazione a monte...

...and this one which is the first of a series of staircases we have to climb to reach our apartment.  It is painted red and blue in honor of the Genova soccer team.

Fortunately, we don't have to climb those stairs on a daily basis because Genova also has a unique set of elevators and funiculars.  

Called ascensore in Italian, this one was built around 100 years ago and connects Piazza Manin with the uppermost hills of eastern Casteletto quartiere.

Hopefully, only the tunnel was built 100 years ago, although that could explain why this particular elevator is often closed for repair.

My favorite elevator connects the Pre quartiere with the western edge of Casteletto quartiere along the Circonvallazione a monte near the Castello d'Albertis

This elevator has the unique capability of traveling as a flat railway for 310 feet from the entrance at Via Balbi, deep into the hillside, and then converting to an elevator for the upward 225 foot journey to Corso Dogali.

It's somewhat disconcerting when you come to the end of the railway, and the equipment starts to change into an elevator.  

Every time I see an elevator I haven't seen before, I take a quick ride to see where it goes often with surprising results.  It's one of my favorite explorations.