More than Salami

Growing up in Lake Arrowhead, California, the only thing I knew about Genova was that it was my favorite type of salami.

Since those days in elementary school when I would beg my mom to make me Genova salami sandwiches, cut diagonally in half, I have learned a lot of geography - including where Genova, Italy, is on a map (it's on the northeast coast). I have also learned that in Italy, it is Genova, not Genoa.

Besides the salami, I feel a connection with Genova. While I lived on a mountain in southern California, Genova is protected by a wall of mountains that surrounds the city, except where its port meets the coast of the upper Italian shoreline.

Its location is not only one of practical importance in terms of the city's protection, but the port is at the center of the city's economic and cultural growth. Genova's role as a powerful city dates back to the 11th and 12th century, due in large part to its status as a seafaring port. For Genova, a location on the sea helped ensure the city's safety, in addition to sustaining its heritage and prominence several hundred years later.

Because of its harbor, Genova gained prestige as a city on the sea. Through the 1500s, the Doria family gave the port city its artistic edge, paying attention to aesthetic architecture and other cultural beautifiers. The Doria's helped secure Genova's importance in the Renaissance world scene.

The Doria family's contributions to Genova's cultural heritage came as early as 1278, when they built the houses and church of San Matteo. The Palazza Quartara has a bas-relief of St. George, which hangs above the main doorway.

Nearly 700 years after the Doria family first impacted the region, in 1936, the bronze fountain on the Piazza De Ferrari was built. The fountain is located just west of the Palazza.

While the Doria's revitalized Genova's culture, a more famous name reminds visitors - especially from the Americas -- of the "new world".

Cristoforo Colombo - though in the United States, you might better recall the name Christopher Columbus - is significant in Genova's history. His presence is still felt in much of Genova. The so-called "new world" explorer is remembered in a statue that greets the city's travelers as they enter the Piazza Acquaverde from the Porta Principe train station.

Besides the statue, Genoese artist Tavarone painted a series of frescoes in the 17th-century that chronicle and celebrate Colombo's life. You can visit these at the Palazzo Belimbau, which sits on top of the old city walls of hundreds of years past.

While it is unknown whether or not Colombo was actually born in Genova, the port city takes claim of his status as a native son. City registers mention his father, who was a weaver, as well as other family members, thus giving indirect evidence of Colombo's likely Genovan heritage.

Besides the city register, there are also grounds for speculation that the explorer may have been raised in a small house covered with arching chains of ivy, next the Porta Soprana, whose curved walls stand close to the site of Colombo's supposed childhood home. It is there, some suggest, that Colombo may have first found his desire to be at sea.

The statues and Palazzos where you can view images dedicated to the memory of Colombo illustrate the cities love for the 15th-century explorer, but you can also find evidence of the city's admiration in many Genova buildings that bear Colombo's name, including the airport (Aeroporto Cristoforo Colombo).

Today, you will still see reminders of Colombo's historical prominence and Genova's port is still important in sustaining the city. As you travel Genova's busy roads, you will notice its economy is driven largely by container shipping. Since the 1960s, wharves and office buildings have also come to play an important role in Genova's economy.

And while I have learned there is so much to think of when I hear the word "Genova," I cannot help but first think, "Man, I'd like a sandwich."