Blogs from Genoa, Liguria, Italy, Europe

I see bitter orange trees all over Liguria and they are delightful. Bitter orange trees originally came from South East Asia, through Oman, Persia and Egypt. They arrived in 1000AC on the coasts of the Arabian Mediterranean Sea (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Lebanon.) In the course of the crusades, the French and Genoese loaded it on to their ships and brought it home to garnish their gardens. The bitter orange tree then arrived in Liguria and Provence, and as a result the areas grew prosperous. The citrus groves on the Ligurian west coast were called 'The Ligurian Gardens of the Hesperides' Now there are many bitter orange trees placed between Sanremo and Ventimiglia. REFERENCES ■Sanremo ■Ventimiglia ■orange trees ... read more

Salvatori and Michelangelo in Genoa. Michelangelo Buonarrotti is considered to be one of the greatest Renaissance artists. He is particularly famous for his painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling in 1508. He is also famous for sculptures of heads of the biblical hero David, of which there are many copies around Florence especially. Just inside of Palazzo Ducale, located in Piazza De Ferrari in Genoa, there is part of Andrea Salvatori's exhibition which shows the head of David. Andrea Salvatori is a modern sculptor. In 2018 during a stay in Montelupo Fiorentino, which is a town famous for ceramics and located very near to Empoli, Salvatori made a few big heads of the David by Michelangelo, out of terracotta. The head in this exhibition is one of those heads, which are turned upside down, carved inside ... read more

This morning I took the Funicolare Zecca-Righi. This is a funicular railway in Genoa connecting the Largo della Zecca, on the edge of Genoa's historic centre to several stations on the slope of the Righi hill. After reaching Righi I walked up a hill and found a Planetarium which in plain English is a theatre devoted to education and entertainment in astronomy and space science. I found some very interesting information and pictures of sightings which have taken place in the Planetarium. My favourite was one taken during the equinox. I also found some information on a board about the use of water clocks to measure time. I've always been very interested in how different civilizations have measured time. I remember back in primary school when we were doing a really interesting project on the Egyptians ... read more

Since returning to Italy, I've tried to fit in small moments of enjoyment and joy daily even though I've felt quite overwhelmed by the problems I've been trying to solve, which are constantly being made more uncertain by the pandemic. When I did these small but enjoyable things, I tried to use all of my senses to really enjoy them fully. Of course, with having to wear the mask all day long my sense of smell has often been severely compromised, but I used my other 4 senses, as far as I was able. Everyday I'm so grateful for being alive and I'm very happy about the fact that even though we are living through a pandemic with its many restrictions and consequences, I'm still free to live daily moments of happiness, as we all are ... read more

Nervi is one of the suburbs of Genoa and is 15 km from the city centre, in the countryside. The walk along the seaside promenade is called Passeggiata Anita Garibaldi and follows cliffs and beaches along the way. There are also four museums in Nervi. There is Museo Giannettino Luxoro with clock exhibits, The Wolfsoniana which houses architectural drawings and sketches and Galleria d'Arte Moderno with famous 19th and 20th century paintings. There is also a park called Parchi di Nervi.... read more