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Hi guys! I hope you are enjoying reading all my Italy posts! If you want to read my previous posts about my visits to Italy, the links are at the end of this article. 😊

Now, today I’m going to be sharing my experience in Genoa, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus! Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator who completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. He opened the way to European exploration and colonization of the Americas. From Pisa we took the train again to Genoa. I think train is the easiest mode of transportation in Europe. 🤔 This was our last stop on this trip because we were hopping on a Mediterranean Cruise. I will write about this cruise very soon, sooo stay tuned! But after this post I have one more Italian city to share with you! And I promise you’re going to like it a lot!

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My Dad booked a room at Grand Hotel Savoia, a five-star hotel established in 1897. This hotel is one of the oldest hotels in Italy. It is also a very short walking distance from the train station. Some noble people and artists stayed here before. 😱 So I was feeling pretty special. 🤪 There was a nice bath tub with AMAZING smelling bath salts that I got to use! 🛀 One thing I found different in the hotels in Europe is the bidet, you know, no toilet paper required! Just wash your bottom in the bidet and it will be sparkling clean. 😂 Ooohhh…. there was also a hot tub at the roof top of the hotel, and I included the video at the end of this post!

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Now, let’s explore Genoa, shall we? As usual we asked for a map and some directions from the hotel front desk, and we were on our way. Our destination was the Piazza De Ferrari. The buildings in Genoa are beautiful and you can tell that there’s a lot of history. The little alley had so much character and the streets made of stone are so pretty 🤩

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Along the way, we stopped at the cathedral. It has a very long name, Basilica della Santissima Annunziata del Vastato built in 1520. Andrea Ansaldo was in charge of completing the Baroque decoration in the early 17th century. The current Neo-classicist façade dates to 1830-1840s, was designed by Carlo Barabino. It was damaged by Allied bombings during World War II, but it’s now fixed up. The cathedral is not as extravagant as the churches in Rome or Florence, but it is still very beautiful.

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We saw so many beautiful buildings along the way before we arrived at the piazza. Piazza de Ferrari is the central square at the very heart of Genoa. It is the business and financial district of the city. The buildings around there are offices, bank headquarters, insurance companies, and private companies. At the middle of piazza is a beautiful large bronze round fountain. We looked around and admired the beautiful architecture of the buildings then we took some pictures and went to see another church.

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We continued our walk to see the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo. It’s beautiful, just like the cathedral in Florence, Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. The construction began in 1110, they use black and white marble with two large lions on the side. It was mistakenly bombed by a crew of a British battleships during WW2, but the bomb miraculously did not detonate. That same bomb can be found displayed inside the church. After all the sightseeing, we make our way back to the hotel, and we ate at one of the restaurant close to the hotel, and we also had a gelato for dessert. 😋 In case you want to visit Genoa someday click here to learn more about other things to do and historical landmarks to visit! I found this website very helpful 😊

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We woke up early, and we had a delicious buffet breakfast at the hotel. My parents debated if weather we should explore more of Genoa, or head over to the cruise terminal. Well, they decided to head to the cruise terminal early to get settled in. We just walked to Stazione Maritima, the home port and departure terminal for many MSC Cruises (Mediterranean Shipping Company). The cruise we went on was a ten day cruise with stops in Casablanca, Morocco; Barcelona and Malaga, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; and Marseilles, France. You can click here, to read my post about Morocco. 😄

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After we checked in, we walk around the cruise ship and took more pictures of Genoa. We got to cruise in the MSC Prezioza! It had a-a, WATER SLIDE!

I have one more Italian city to post! Can you guess which city it’s going to be? Write your guess on the comment below!

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Check out my Italy Series post:

When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do! (Vatican City)

Rome Part II (Colosseum)

Florence, the Birthplace of Renaissance

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

That’s it for this post! Stay tuned until next time! Bye!

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