Genoa – Od Loading Square do Piana di Fontane Marose
Once in the past, the sea came up to the arcaded columns of Piazza Caricamento, that is why the square is now separated from the coast by a fence and huge containers. There is constant traffic here: buses come and go, Porters run out of the surrounding streets to the market taking place on the square, it is also full of small popular cafes. The market was held here in the 12th century, when small boats were landing here and delivering goods from the galleys at anchor. The fruit and vegetable stalls still stand along the arcades, but today there are also makeshift stands with sunglasses or illegally played tapes among them. Local prostitutes are also waiting for clients here, although the area is nothing dangerous for tourists.
W Palazzo San Giorgio, on the edge of the square, Initially, customs officers had their headquarters, and then elected city councilors. In the year 1408 the building was taken over by the syndicate of Banco di San Giorgio, created to finance the war with Venice. The Sala dei Protettori is open to visitors in the medieval wing of the palace (Bank Benefactors Room) i Sala Manica Lunga (Long Sleeve Hall). In the 16th century, this bank helped the city switch from a commercial to banking profile, which made Genoa one of the major financial powers in Europe. Most of the city's magnificent palaces date from this period. As evidenced by the decor of the buildings that have survived to this day, Genoa, even though she herself did not educate her own outstanding artists, she could afford to bring in the best portrait painters and interior architects of the time.
Behind Piazza Caricamento is a dynamic shopping area. It focuses around the little one, in the Middle Ages, it served as a center, and today the square of Piazza Banchi surrounded by stalls selling old books. Old streets go out of here in different directions. Via Soziglia runs one way, street with lots of different types of bars. The Kainguti cocktail bar, built by the Austrians, draws attention here, where biscuits and ice cream are sold in a chandelier-decorated interior. Next there is a shop with used costumes from different eras and a signpost with the words Mercato dei Pulci, pointing towards the flea market in Piazza Lavagna. From Piazza Soziglia, it's not far to Piazza di Fontane Marose, where the district of 16th-century streets and palaces begins (See. below).
The long medieval Via San Luca overlooks the other side of Piazza Banchi. This street was in an area belonging to the Spinola family and when the last of their descendants died in the year 1958, the ancestral palace was converted into the Galleria Nazionale di Palazzo Spinola (at the end of the street, niedaleko Piazza Pelliceria; Tue-Sat. 9.00-18.30, Nd. 9.00-13.00; 2000 L). The museum-owned Ecce Homo painting by Sicilian master Antonello da Messina may still be under conservation, but the Adoration of the Three Wise Men by Joos Van Cleve is worth seeing. This image was stolen from the Church of San Donato in the years 70. and cut into pieces by thieves.
The Museo del Risorgimento is also located in this part of the Old Town, Via Lomellini 11 (Tue-Sat. 9.30-11.45 and 14.00-17.00). The museum is located in the building, in which year 1805 Giuseppe Mazzini was born. As a 16-year-old boy, he saw political refugees on the streets of Genoa, destitute and begging for money to ship to free countries. He has become a type of romantic hero, which by the memory of the failed uprising of the year 1821 he always wore black clothes. It was the ideology he created that started the radical movement in Italy. After a short stay in prison, Mazzini founded the "Young Italy" movement dedicated to the idea of unification and independence. Even though his writings were quite abstract in nature, his core beliefs were immensely popular. During the period of the greatest intensification of political emigration, he stayed in Genoa and Turin 200 Thousand. refugees from other parts of Italy. A large group of these refugees held views close to Mazzini. There are photos in the museum, Mazzini documents and souvenirs.