Genoa, Italy

“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

Genoa is Italy’s 6th largest city, and it is surrounded by mountains and sea. Christopher Columbus was born here, and the international airport is named for him. In the past, there were 20 fortresses protecting the city in the mountains, and a Genoese sea army protected it from ocean attacks.

Today we traveled by boat to Portofino, Santa Margherita, and Camogli, three coastal villages. As we headed out of the port of Genoa, we saw several of the forts on the nearby mountains. As we sailed, we passed San Fruttuoso – an abbey nestled at the base of coastal mountains on the beach. It was originally built by monks, but it is no longer a monastery. Today, it is a museum and public beach.

We then sailed around the Portofino lighthouse and saw beautiful multicolored homes on the hillside. We also passed by the Nature Park of Portofino, a protected area since 1945.

Santa Margherita

Santa Margherita was our first coastal village. Right at the end of our pier, was a park with lots of statues including a green statue of the first king of Italy, Vitorrio Emanuele. We walked to the Center Square of Santa Margherita and saw its 1st church dedicated to St. Margaret. It is a 17th century church – Baroque style architecture. Frescos, floors and side chapels use colored marble, and there are also paintings that decorate the church.

Clockwise from top-left: Santa Margherita bay; Columbus statue; Santa Margherita church; Santa Margherita statue

After visiting the church, we strolled through the narrow streets and saw pasta making shops, cheese and salami shops, candy and pastry shops. And then we saw it! A gelateria! Time for our first gelato! John had dark chocolate, and I had pistachio. What a glorious treat!!

Clockwise from top-left: cookies and spreads; sampling our first gelatos; fresh produce; tourist shopper; making fresh ravioli

Portofino

Portofino is a fishing village on the western shore of Italy near Genoa. The houses here are different colors, so the fishermen at sea could easily identify which house was theirs. St. George is the patron saint of Portofino. St. George’s church was destroyed in WWII, then rebuilt. The view from the church was awesome.

We had independent time, so off we went. Guess what John found? Another gelateria! And he found his favorite flavor: stracciotella (chocolate chip)! He has found his souvenir, and I being a supportive wife had to have another one too! Delish!

Camogli

Our last village was Camogli. On our way, the boat cruised by the abbey again in the Nature Park of Portofino. Camogli is a small fishing village that is definitely not a tourist spot. We did find a place that sold focaccia, pizza, and brioche, so we bought a focaccia with tomato and olive oil. It was really delicious! This is a very hilly town, and John wanted to know what the upper street was like, so off he went! I documented his quest from down below! Finally, he came back, and we headed back to the waterfront. However, we had one more stop – a gelateria!

Left: stairs to adjacent street. Top-right: sampling focaccia. Bottom-right: chocolate gelato.

Next stop: Florence and Pisa!