The wavy Ligurian Sea

Mare

Do you like the sound of a wavy sea?

Well, after the last evening's experience of four earth tremors, I have decided to go to one of Savona's beaches this morning. And to contemplate at it: the beautiful deep Ligurian Sea.

And everything looked just as usual: windy weather, many people walking their pets on the beach , ducks floating in the nearby channel, fishermen, and ships on the horizon. Yes, a day like any other. Except the fact that there were several small earthquakes last evening. But local people seem undisturbed at all.

After the footsteps of Thomas Jefferson in Northern Italy

Piazza

In 1787, on 28th of April, Thomas Jefferson passes through Savona on his way back to France. At that time he was a governor of Commonwealth. What the future president of America was doing in Italy and through which places he was passing by is what I am going to show you next.

While Thomas Jefferson was spending some time in France inquiring business opportunities there, he also decided to explore "the rice country of Piedmont" in order to understand why European consumers refuse Carolina's rice... As a result he did quite a big tour of Northern Italy.

What is more, his alpine and seaside journey Thomas Jefferson did on the back of a mule, alone, and anonymously. That's an adventure!

Alright, I did quite a map to show his approximate route from France to and through Italy and the places he visited:


View After the footsteps of Thomas Jefferson in Italy in a larger map

Here what Thomas Jefferson said about Italy in his Autobiography, 1743-1790:

"Here are nightingales, garden warblers, gardeners, pheasants, partridges, quails, a superb climate and the opportunity at any time to change from summer to winter climbing in the mountains. The earth produces wine, olive oil, figs, oranges and all products the garden ..."

I believe everyone will agree with his remark on the climate and the opportunity to switch easily from summer to winter ☻ This is true especially in the region of Liguria.

What followed was adoption of some agricultural crops by American farmers. Among them his favorite was the olive. However, it grew on South Carolina's and Georgia's land with poor success. Anyway, Thomas Jefferson classified three things as top necessities of life: olive oil, wine and books...

Off topic: A noteworthy fact is that the olive marks the extent of the Mediterranean climate.

Savona Historical Buildings III: Il Brandale

Piazza

One Sunday, when it was a sunny winter day, an old man accosted us in front of Il Brandale and told us a story about popes related somehow to the tower and the city. Then he showed us a coat of arms on the wall of a neighboring building and said it belonged to a powerful familia (which one I don't know).

Since I couldn't understand much, I decided to do my own "research" on the subject☻and I found the following.

Several powerful families had a significant impact on Savona's history in the past. They delivered 3 popes in total to the world and helped the city to flourish. Who were they?

First of all, there is some mystery around Il Brandale: no one knows the actual date of its construction although there is evidence that it was built in the 11th century. What's more it is argued that the name of the tower might belong to a family that owned it during the early medieval ages. What is sure is that Hildebrand's (Italian Ildebrando) originated from this familia and Pope Gregarious VII was a Hildebrand himself. He was known for seeking "to establish the supremacy of the pope within the Church and the authority of the Church over the state" /source/; a probable author of the so called Dictatus Papae (the dictates of the pope).

So it is believed by some that Torre del Brandale belonged to his ancestors. The tower is now called A Campanassa which is the name of the big bell installed in it. An interesting fact is that the docks of the old port (Vecchia Darsena) were located just a few meters from the tower in medieval times. (A highway lies between them now.)

A view to Il Brandale from Vecchia Darsena

Two other names of popes were related to Savona's history too: Sixtus IV (originally Francesco della Rovere) and Julius II (Juliano della Rovere). Both of them were part of Rovere family thanks to which Savona had became a cradle of the culture in Western Liguria during the late fifteenth century before it fell down under Genova's governance.

This is to explain why they call Savona "The City of Popes". However this is not the end of the today's story. Next to Torre del Brandale, you'll also find other two medieval towers: Torre Riario and Torre Corsi:

A view to Torre Riario and Torre Corsi located at Piazza del Brandale

These two towers were, obviously, named after other two powerful families in medieval Savona. For example, Riario was an Italian noble whose mother was one of Rovere's, Bianca della Rovere and thus, he was a nephew of Francesco della Rovere, namely Pope Sixtus IV. What a fortune! After all it is all about power and influence, isn't it? You know, they say that blood relations and la familia as a whole have always been important in Italy when it comes to business.

Well, this is all I found about Brandale's relations to Popes. Perhaps there's even more. Some other time I'll tell you about the old city's gate - entrance to its historical center and many small shops.

How to boil pasta like a real Italian

Exercise yourself

How to boil pasta in Italian style for the hungry souls? Here's how:

Perhaps you've heard that pasta is ready if, thrown against the wall, it sticks on it. This is wrong, very wrong - say Italians and shake their heads. If the pasta sticks on the wall, it means that it's overcooked and you can trash it. On the contrary, the pasta must be al dente.

So follow these 2 simple steps:

1. Leave the pasta to boil for 1 minute less than what is indicated on the package.
For the curious:

This is so because the pasta will continue to cook in the pan with the sauce.
2. Transfer the pasta into the pan with the sauce and stir energetically for the last 1 minute.

Enjoy your meal!

Italian lesson III: A route to the sea

Mare  Exercise yourself

That's right, this is a wordplay. It is about a street taking you out to the sea.

You know about the beautiful Ligurian sea. Some time ago we went to a neighboring town, Vado Ligure. It lies on the motorway to France in the west and its port is an important logistic terminal which handles more than a million tones of shipments annually.

A view of the port.




















It manages the traffic of a great variety of products: vehicles, wood, soft commodities and metals. Besides, the port is also known for pleasure craft and over half a million passengers pass through it every year. Not to mention that it is a big employer due to the volume of the traffic it manages.


While we were walking near the port, we spotted a sign on a route "Via di fuga a mare". So isn't it a street which can take you out to the sea? Say it Via "Fuga a mare":

It is indeed but not exactly a street. Actually, this is an exit runway to the sea.

If you understood the wordplay, then try to answer this question:

How do we say "street" in Italian?

Quick tour of Savona: from the Train Station to the Port

Exercise yourself

If you visit Savona and the Italian Riviera, you might need to know how to quickly reach the Cruise Port from the Railway Station or vice versa. Here we go.

1. By train

If you arrive in Savona by train, the fastest way to go to the Port or the city center is by bus. It is cheap and fast: 1 € for a ticket and 10 minutes for the trip. The bus stop is on the left side of the Railway Station and there is no way to overlook it when you go out from the main entrance of the station.

Here how it looks on the map:

View Railway Station in a larger map

There are three bus lines you can get on: 62, 7 and 5.

Line 62 goes directly to the Port called Palacrociere, while lines 7 and 5 don't but can bring you to the city center. Going to Palacrociere from the center by walk will take you not more than 10 minutes. Although it brings you directly to the port, bus 62 goes through a longer route as to show you the city.

Keep in mind that bus 62 runs only when cruise ships arrive on the port! To check this, visit the webside of Porto di Savona or check timetables here (just for double check).

If you get on line 7 or 5, you will have to cross the old dock, that is Vecchia Darsena.

Vecchia Darsena

There is a bridge you can go through to cut the route. But if you carry luggage with you, it might be a bit of inconvenience. And if the bridge is lifted for a boat to pass beneath, you will have to go round, just along the old dock with the boats or you can wait, of course, for the bridge to get down again.

A new bridge is been built now to replace the current one and hopefully, to make it more comfortable to the passengers.

Part of the construction site of the new bridge

The timetables of all bus lines including 62, 7 and 5 can be found on the webside of TPL which is the local public transport in the Province of Savona.

You can buy a bus ticket at any newsstand or bookstore. There are different colors of tickets, though, and you will need a pink ticket to get on bus 62, 7 or 5!

One more tip: buses don't stop unless you wave them.

2. By cruise ship

Alright, if you arrive in Savona with a cruise ship, you might need to catch a train for another place or walk around the city center. The best way is to get on bus 62 which will take you directly to the Railway Station. The bus stops in front of the Palacrociere, very convenient indeed. It passes through one of the main shopping streets of Savona, namely Via Paleocapa.

By the way, I found three different timetables of line 62 - one in a local newspaper, second in the webside of the local public transport, and third on a bus stop at Via Paleocapa ☻ After all, this is part of the unique Italian charm. And bus 62 runs frequently anyway.

View to a cruise ship from the bus stop at Via Paleocapa

If you'd like to walk and look around, the distance between Palacrociere and Via Paleocapa is very short. Just cross the bridge at the old dock, then a zebra and the shopping street is vertical to the clock tower shown on the picture. This is "Torretta" and is one of the symbols of the city of Savona. You can see the city's flag on it.

At the same time, you might want to go to the opposite direction from the port and then you'll find a medieval fortress, namely La Fortezza del Priamar.

Wherever you go or however you visit the Riviera delle Palme, I promise you, you'll be captivated!

Let's clean up our beach

Mare

I'm back to sunny Italy after I spent the winter holidays with my family. And I made a decision: to begin with a beach cleanup.

This is the beach next to which I live - a beautiful and tranquil place. I want it clean. You know, garbage thrown out on the sand is not an uncommon scene. So I decided to take a plastic bag and a pair of gloves every time I go on jogging and do some cleaning.

I was surprised by the variety of plastic bottles, packages, cigarette butts and other sorts of junks I found on the beach. I know that some of them came with the waves. However, if I want a clean beach for me and those close to me and not only for the tourists, then I can just do it.

Thus I can truly enjoy a view like this:

Do you know that Savona has a Blue Flag for the quality of the sea water, seaside services and cultural and sport activities related to the sea? Let's keep its beaches clean. If you like this, you can join me. The only rule is: one bag at a time.