Description
Boccadasse is Genoa's old fishing village: pastel-coloured houses huddled around a small bay, boats pulled up on the shore and a little church by the sea, at the end of the Corso Italia seafront, about 5 kilometres from the centre.
The city has surrounded it, but the village has stayed almost as it must have looked a century or two ago. And it is no picture-postcard set for tourists: a few fishermen still work here, alongside ice-cream shops, restaurants and small art galleries.
Its heart is Piazza Nettuno, the little square that opens onto the beach. At the top of the village stands the church of Sant'Antonio di Padova, built by the fishermen in the early 18th century: on its walls hang model ships left as ex-votos, reminders of the tragedies of seafaring folk.
Behind the church is the Edoardo Firpo viewpoint, the terrace from which you can see the whole village from above, with a plaque bearing the poet's lines about Boccadasse. From here you can go down by a flight of steps or along Via Aurora, a typical Ligurian crêuza.
Another crêuza climbs to Capo di Santa Chiara, dominated by the Castello Türcke, a medieval-style castle designed by Gino Coppedè in 1903. From the viewpoint your gaze runs along the eastern coast all the way to the Portofino promontory.
The name may come from “bocca d'asino”, donkey's mouth, after the shape of the bay, but that is just the most often quoted theory. A legend says the village was founded around the year 1000 by Spanish fishermen who took shelter here from a storm: their captain is said to have given rise to the surname Dodero, still common in the area.
What is more certain is the residents' tenacity: when Corso Italia was opened in 1915, the plan was to extend it right up to the houses, and their opposition stopped it.
That is why the traffic, on reaching the church of Sant'Antonio, turns inland and leaves the village untouched. Gino Paoli, who lived for a long time on the Salita di Santa Chiara, dedicated a song to Boccadasse. And Andrea Camilleri made it the home of Livia, Inspector Montalbano's Genoese girlfriend.
The city has surrounded it, but the village has stayed almost as it must have looked a century or two ago. And it is no picture-postcard set for tourists: a few fishermen still work here, alongside ice-cream shops, restaurants and small art galleries.
Its heart is Piazza Nettuno, the little square that opens onto the beach. At the top of the village stands the church of Sant'Antonio di Padova, built by the fishermen in the early 18th century: on its walls hang model ships left as ex-votos, reminders of the tragedies of seafaring folk.
Behind the church is the Edoardo Firpo viewpoint, the terrace from which you can see the whole village from above, with a plaque bearing the poet's lines about Boccadasse. From here you can go down by a flight of steps or along Via Aurora, a typical Ligurian crêuza.
Another crêuza climbs to Capo di Santa Chiara, dominated by the Castello Türcke, a medieval-style castle designed by Gino Coppedè in 1903. From the viewpoint your gaze runs along the eastern coast all the way to the Portofino promontory.
The name may come from “bocca d'asino”, donkey's mouth, after the shape of the bay, but that is just the most often quoted theory. A legend says the village was founded around the year 1000 by Spanish fishermen who took shelter here from a storm: their captain is said to have given rise to the surname Dodero, still common in the area.
What is more certain is the residents' tenacity: when Corso Italia was opened in 1915, the plan was to extend it right up to the houses, and their opposition stopped it.
That is why the traffic, on reaching the church of Sant'Antonio, turns inland and leaves the village untouched. Gino Paoli, who lived for a long time on the Salita di Santa Chiara, dedicated a song to Boccadasse. And Andrea Camilleri made it the home of Livia, Inspector Montalbano's Genoese girlfriend.