Portofino (again) and Genova Museums

November 10-11, 2007 Saturday/Sunday

I decided to go back to Portofino today since I didn’t really get a chance to see it last time. So I took the train to Santa Margherita and looked for the boat. Sorry, no boats today. The bus goes to Portofino—right over there. So it did. So I did. I watched on the way over. You’re supposed to be able to walk the 3 miles from Portofino to Santa Margherita, but about halfway between the two, the sidewalk/path from S. Margherita stops and you have to walk in the road, which is just a tad narrow. In some places, especially around tight bends, the bus honked its horn to warn on coming traffic we were coming through. And I saw several walkers jumping out of the way of cars on the road.

Portofino isn’t much bigger than what I saw from the docks last time. There are the colorful houses right along the coast and the villas up in the hills. There are a few more houses further back, but not a lot. Via Roma links the main square, where the bus stops, to the water. There are several restaurants/pizzerias along via Roma. I had a great pizza at one of these with a woodburning oven. Good stuff!

After lunch I wandered about some more, but shortly took the bus back toward S. Margherita. At the point where the sidewalk/path started, I got off and walked the rest of the way. I investigated a castle-like building I’d seen on the way out. It turns out that it’s an old fortification, but has been turned into a disco. It sits on a spit of land sticking out into the Mediterranean. The views must be fabulous at night with all the lights of the towns along the coast strung out in view.

I stopped at Seghezzo Fratelli’s for some bread and dinner fixings (by the time I get back the markets in Genova may be closed).

On Sunday, I visited the “must see” museums on the “new street” or Strada Nuova (more commonly known as Via Garibaldi). The Strada Nuova was envisioned as a statement of the wealth and influence of Genova’s merchant families and the city’s power. It was the first wide street (and it’s not all that wide, although compared to the vicoli I’ve described, it’s a veritable boulevard). The frontages along the Strada Nuova were designed by Veronese (the famous painter/architect). These 3 museums were, at one time, the homes of 3 of the city’s main merchantile families. The White Museum (Galleria di Palazzo Biancho and originally home to the Grimaldi family) contains collections of Flemish and Genovese paintings. The Red Museum (Galleria di Palazzo Rosso and originally home to the Brignole-Sale family) contains Baroque frescoes and works by Reni, Guercino, Van Dyck, and Durer. The Palazzo Tursi (originally home to the Doria family) contains Paganini’s violins (both the Guarneri and the Vuillaume), and tapestries, furniture, coins, and ceramics from the Republic of Genova.

These museums are interesting depending on your interests. If you’re a coin collector, the Palazzo Tursi is a must see. At the top of the Palazzo Rosso (6^th floor), there is a viewing platform that gives a marvelous view over Genova. As far as the paintings go, you won’t find anything that’s really fine (or anything you might expect to see in the Louvre, the Met, the Chicago Art Institute, or the Prado). For the most part the art and sculpture is almost all religious. My naïve impression was: lots of Madonnas with and without child, lots of St. John the Baptists with and without head, and lots of St. Francis with and without stigmata (better go and do a google define on that one! I’m really showing my Catholic upbringing here).