In the company of a tour guide by Genoa you will discover the historic center of the’ancient republic and its extraordinary artistic and cultural heritage. You will feel like you are getting lost in the labyrinth of obscure caruggi (alleys) where different smells, tastes, sounds have always blended and met. Genoa Superb, gateway to Europe, heart of Liguria, is a vertical, airy city squeezed between sea and hills. Contrasts and mixtures elsewhere unthinkable here are reflected, in a seemingly disorganized way in the urban structure and in the character of the Genoese, only at first glance rough and introverted. In an alternation of anecdote, culture, dream and mystery, you will be surprised by cosy spaces that suddenly reveal splendid mansions, built by nobles and wealthy merchants, and charming corners such as the delightful st. matthews square with the D'Oria family's aristocratic church with its black-and-white banded facade. The cathedral of St. Lawrence, consecrated at the beginning of the 12th century, presents a mixture of different artistic epochs: between phytomorphic and zoomorphic depictions, it goes from Romanesque to Gothic, from Renaissance to Baroque. In Treasury Museum the Sacred Basin, long believed to be the Holy Grail, and the ark that holds the ashes of St. John the Baptist, patron saint of Genoa, which arrived in the city after the First Crusade (1098), are enshrined.
During the guided tour of Genoa, a fil rouge will take us back to the time of the Crusades, the colonies in the Mediterranean, the Holy Land, the Black Sea, the Middle East. We will almost seem to hear the voices of commoners and sailors of old, we will feel as if we can hear them echoing in the carruggi, among the traces of medieval structures that re-emerge in the facades of seventeenth-century buildings, in a layering of epochs and styles that evokes the many generations that preceded us.
The habit of building on the existing, the numerous alterations and extensions of 12th- and 13th-century constructions made during periods of economic prosperity have given rise to a very heterogeneous building conformation, in which within a few dozen meters can be found buildings separated by centuries of history. Genoa is this: statues of saints and votive shrines will guide us through the labyrinth of alleys, among very tall houses whose roofs seem to brush against each other and the sun hardly ever touches the ground. In this compact set of buildings, the past acts as a foundation for the present; splendid churches alternate with workshops active for more than a century, with specialties prepared according to ancient recipes. A’experience will lead us on a discovery of the flavors of Genoese gastronomy.
Marveling at the beauty of Genoa, as if it were always the first time, during the guided tour we will discover St. George's Palace, where Marco Polo dictated to Rustichello da Pisa the Million, and the unique church of St. Peter in Banchi that incorporates ancient stores on the first floor. From SS. Annunziata del Vastato to the Gesù church, from S. Donato to Porta Soprana, from S. Maria di Castello to S. Giovanni di Prè, to the many museums, we will retrace together the most significant pages of the Superb's history. During our guided tour of Genoa we will discover the medieval core of the Ducal Palace, which following the 16th-century expansion became a solemn and majestic palace. We will discover a never-before-seen Genoa, where the melodies of Giuseppe Verdi still resound and the atmospheres sung by Fabrizio De Andrè.
In ancient harbor the view ranges from the Lantern, the harbor lighthouse, a symbol of Genoa, to a part of the fortifications and walls that made the Superb invincible over the centuries. A port tour will make us appreciate the words of Petrarch (You will thus glimpse a city dominating on the side of a rocky hill, Genoa, superb in population and walls, which appearance itself declares the lady of the sea....). Original experiences will be able to introduce us to the verticality of Genoa. With elevators and funiculars we will be able to reach uptown and the viewpoint of Castelletto: here you will be enraptured by the haunting beauty of the panorama of slate roofs contrasting with the background of the blue sky and sea.
The tour of Genoa can continue with the Golden Age of the Superb City, discovering New Road (via Garibaldi) and of the Palazzi dei Rolli, where splendid collections of works of art and masterpieces by Italian and foreign artists have been kept for centuries. A coach itinerary will introduce us to the beauty of the villas of Albaro, Boccadasse and neighborhoods made between the 19th and 20th centuries.
For school tourism, our tour guides carry out guided tours for educational trips in Genoa's historic center by adapting content and language to the class attended.
