Genoa

Genoa was the first Italian city we actually visited. Despite landing in Milan's airport, we didn't see any of the city. So when we arrived in Genoa it was the first Italian city most of us had ever been to, so we were stunned.

All of us in front of our hotel. Note the dangerous stairs.

Genoa is a port city, the largest in Italy. Known originally as a city full of trade and culture, it is now known as the center of industry and shipping. Much of the city is a ghetto with large tenement like buildings housing large amounts of workers for the shipyards and all that. Luckily the conference was in the center of the more urban, cosmopolitan, more fashionable side of the city. Our hotel was on the border of the nice neighborhood and right next to the bad one. I was actually solicited by a prostitute one night while walking along one of the streets. Apparently parts of the city are notorious for crime; in fact some of the Genoese students said they had never even been to the "other side of the city" because it was so dangerous.

Genoa had a very urban, somewhat dirty feel to it. The streets were littered with graffiti, typical of the political movements which represent the lower income Italians and foreigners. The city had a lot of trash and had a feel of not being well maintained at parts, yet at other parts was very clean; probably a result of the class cleavages that were so evident witht the neighborhoods.

The conference was held in giant palaces spread out throughout the city. It was quite impressive to be having the conference in such large buildings that were definite centerpieces to the city. My committee was held in the Palazzo Rosso yet the majority of the committees were held in the Palazzo Ducale, a central point in the city where several streets met.

Palazzo di Ferrari- the Site of the Ducale

One of the best parts about Genoa was the exploring. Conner and I decided one day to take the vicolli or allies instead of the main streets that the advisors told us to take in order to get to the Ducale. We had not really seen these tiny, winding allies before and because of it we only wanted to take them. They were so exciting, so unique to Italy and we wanted to use them so badly. Problem is they are mighty disorienting as well. The slight curves of the streets cause you to lose your bearings quite easily, and the direction you thought you were headed is now slightly off from where you thought. And since Genoa didn't have as many landmarks as a city such a Florence did, the probability of finding an area of familiarity was relatively low. To wrap up the story, Conner and I ended up on the wrong side of the Ducale, after walking by it without even noticing. But that was part of the adventure, and definitely worth the danger and confusion we faced in the winding allies.

The conference was overall unorganized. From what i heard it was typical of the Italians to run a conference in such slack style. Yet sometime hypocrisy and tension regarding dress codes and things like that seemed to overshadow the fun involved. Thankfully my committee was very competitive and fun, and I had a good time in committee; meeting other kids and just getting acquainted with their ways of life. I really kicked it off with this kid from Dubai, and a German from Ukraine. Overall I met a great variety of characters in the committee, from the clean cut European who speaks perfect English, to the messy smelly European who slurs and mumbles his English. Fun no matter what.

Genoa, like much of Italy, is quite hilly and has large changes in elevation. Although we stayed mainly near the relatively flat coast, if we proceeded further away we would have reached the part of the city built upon the large hills. In fact, it seemed the Italians used the hills as an excuse to just build buildings on top of buildings. Our hotel was built on a building and then on top of another building. For this reason to reach our hotel we had to climb a series of worn down marble steps which proved very dangerous. Nonetheless, it gave a very European and awesome feel to the hotel as we approached it.

The bridge.

The view.

The main metropolitan district of the city was off a main street that ran from the Ducale. Full of all the suave shops and the apparently richer areas it was a very nice place to stroll and window shop. A large bridged spanned the street in a very central position. Conner and I made it our goal to get on top of that bridge by the end of lunch one day. After winding up some random streets we ended up on top of the bridge with a great view of everything.

Genoa was an interesting city. Filled with a large disparity between the rich and the poor as well as a very urban, metropolitan feel Genoa introduced us to Italy in a very appropriate manner.

I really miss Signiori Pasta. Ciao.