Genoa comes from the Latin janua - gate. What an attractive hypothesis, so redolent of mystery and promise!
A gateway to the sea, to far horizons, exotic beaches, the fabulous markets of the Orient.
A gate that also closes behind it a wealth of treasures: the arts, history, society and culture, the ordinary men and women who shaped the destiny of Genoa.

Genoese, in a word at sea and on land, within and beyond the gate, a surly folk rooted in age-old traditions, loth to parade their possessions, yet more than ready to render what they receive.
A reserved character, tempered by the scirocco and north wind, extraordinarily suited to developing a special sort of tourism-one that aims at preserving and enhancing an artistic and cultural heritage without selling out to commerce for mass consumption: on the facades of the palazzi, in the shady alleys, in the quarters where time, so far, hasn't worn away what man created . To savour an experience unique of its kind, just walk through thegate into Genoa "Superba", Genoa the proud, not through arrogance but by sheer majesty of image.

The atmosphere is evocative, the tone historical, redolent of things maritime: it is the old but "proud" part of Genoa that wears a big heart on its sleeve.
Witness the winding alleys, the squares that suddenly open out the narrow spaces across which austere palaces have scrutinized one another over the centuries.

To venture intothe historical centre is a gripping experience You are impressed not only by the narrow streets and mlnute squares, but bv the "illuminating" effect of mediaeval-Renaissance architecture co-existing with the strikingly up-to-date structures of an urban fabric in rapid development.

Experiencing Genoa is a daily discovery of the tenacious bonds with the past: the master craftsman, custodian of an art that will perhaps remain heirless, works away in his shop next door to the designer of tomorrow's most sophisticated technology.
And the Port, commerce, industry. the "city" the worlds of tomorrow - render even more though - provoking such questions as: why are the columns of the Cathedral all so different? Why have the statues of Palazzo Lercari had their ears and noses cut off?

To feel the presence of history in Genoa it is sufficient to take a stroll through the streets - from the "Soprana" and "dei Vacca" gates, vestiges of the city walls built in the 12th centu ry, to the cathedral, which preserves the basin into which, it is said, fell the head of John the Baptist, to the ancient churches of Santi Cosma e Damiano, Santo Stefano (where Christopher Columbus was baptized) and San Matteo; from Palazzo San Giorgio (where Marco Polo dictated "ll Milione") to the Home of Columbus, to the Sant'Andrea cloister, the Loggia di Banchi, the Embriaci Tower.

A clear perception of what Genoa was like in the past can be had simply by walking along via Garibaldi, where Genoese families raised their town houses to princely elevation. During the Punic wars the city was an ally of Rome.
In the Middle Ages it became a "Comune" (autonomous) and laid the foundations of a power that would reach its peak in the 13th and 14th centuries when Genoa controlled trade throughout the entire Mediterranean.