Anita Garibaldi Promenade
Genoa, the port city on the Mediterranean, has always hovered between two poles. Either it is misunderstood by international tourism or it is revered. A few prejudices probably play a role in the consideration, but those who want to step out of the maze of alleys and get some air can do so on a walkway that got the beautiful name Passeggiata Anita Garibaldi. This is a promenade on the Ligurian coast that is popular with locals and holidaymakers alike.
The hustle and bustle of Genoa is lost in Nervi
Some call the Passeggiata Anita Garibaldi romantic - others call it spectacular. And both are probably correct, because in some passages the path is wrested from the rocks. It begins at the port of Nervi. There, where the hustle and bustle of the city is lost along a long sea wall and where the Parchi di Nevi is a part of this metropolis, which can call itself a health resort, has shady parks and where a ballet festival is held that receives national attention. Here, the mild winds that blow down from Mount Fasce lend a pleasant climate. And there it can happen that in winter it gets around ten degrees warmer than in the neighbouring Genoa.
The iodine climate on the coast
The Passeggiata Anita Garibaldi leads from Nervi after about two kilometres to the old port of Capolungo, where pretty villas cling to the rocky hills like charming fortresses. In the past, the place was frequently visited by well-heeled Europeans who hoped to find relief from their tuberculosis in the iodine-rich climate on the Ligurian coast. They too will have promenaded along the path by the rocks. This path has existed since the 19th century. In order to create a connection by the sea also for the fishermen, a certain Marquis Gaetano Gropallo was entrusted with the planning and the execution.
The wife of a freedom fighter
One can pass the Passeggiata in any weather. But now and then, the waves of the Mediterranean Sea beat up to the promenade that is cut into the rock. But when the sun is shining, the view extends over the Golfo Paradiso and sometimes even up to Portofino. By the way, the promenade was named after Anita Garibaldi. She was the wife of the freedom fighter Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was the leader of a revolutionary army in the middle of the 19th century. Garibaldi's wife Anita died in 1849, and the path bore the name of the Princess of Piedmont until April 1944.
Wet straw in the Torre Gropallo
Benches, as well as restaurants, bars and cafés, line the path along the cliff. On the way, the walkers pass, among other things, the Torre Gropallo, which in the past was also called Torre des Fieno, because wet straw was burned there to warn of danger. The origins of the tower date back to the 16th century. This was part of the fortifications against the Ottoman Dragut pirates. The Hotel Marinella, built on a cliff, was long a popular destination for Genoese, but is falling more and more into disrepair. At some points along the Passeggiata Anita Garibaldi there are footbridges to the sea.
