Piazza
What's behind the Gothic archivolts next to Il Torre Del Brandale?
There is the entrance to the old city of Savona, a maze of narrow Mediterranean streets, cosy cafés and ... many boutique shops.
The May sun drove me out of home on a walk to the town's old city. This is the place where you can feel the spirit of both the Mediterranean and the Italian culture as they are shown on the movies. And even more: you can sense the smell of bread and flowers, the colorful shop windows and the nice breeze coming from the docks.
Each street leads to smaller or bigger piazza and I, in my search for a hunting club (bird feathers in particular), chose a way that led me to Piazza della Rovere. (Perhaps you remember my short review of the history of Savona's major families. Well, one of them was Rovere.)
Just round the corner you will walk into the Rovere square.
The light building with the two columns is called Palazzo della Rovere. Alright, it was built by Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere himself (later Pope Julius II) in 1495. This is the largest building in the historical center of Savona and was designed by a Florentine architect, Giuliano da Sangallo. Noteworthy, the queen of Spain, Germana di Foix (wife of Ferdinand V) stayed in the palace during 1507. In fact, the building has a long and intriguing story which I will try to tell some other time.
The palace is located at Via Pia - a beautiful Renaissance street and the main alley of the old city.
Not to mention how many little shops are located on Via Pia - so many fashion shops besides souvenirs, fishing tackles, book stores and others. Well, I found some of them really expensive. Anyhow, this is the place where you can spend a bunch of money for really unique goods.
I carried on and via Pia led me to my most favorite cafe in Savona located at another square - Piazza della Maddalena. I'll tell you that Piazza della Maddalena is the heart of Savona's historical center and holds this name, obviously because of a shrine on the corner of a building. It is an eighteen century shrine and is dedicated to the "Lady of Mercy" which became the symbol of the old city.
However, this story is about Via Pia and the little boutique shops on it. There you can also buy gifts to take back home. You can literally lose yourself along this street and its many branches where besides your shopping fever, you can see amazing architecture, portals, churches, taverns...
Each street leads to smaller or bigger piazza and I, in my search for a hunting club (bird feathers in particular), chose a way that led me to Piazza della Rovere. (Perhaps you remember my short review of the history of Savona's major families. Well, one of them was Rovere.)
Just round the corner you will walk into the Rovere square.
The light building with the two columns is called Palazzo della Rovere. Alright, it was built by Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere himself (later Pope Julius II) in 1495. This is the largest building in the historical center of Savona and was designed by a Florentine architect, Giuliano da Sangallo. Noteworthy, the queen of Spain, Germana di Foix (wife of Ferdinand V) stayed in the palace during 1507. In fact, the building has a long and intriguing story which I will try to tell some other time.
The palace is located at Via Pia - a beautiful Renaissance street and the main alley of the old city.
Not to mention how many little shops are located on Via Pia - so many fashion shops besides souvenirs, fishing tackles, book stores and others. Well, I found some of them really expensive. Anyhow, this is the place where you can spend a bunch of money for really unique goods.
I carried on and via Pia led me to my most favorite cafe in Savona located at another square - Piazza della Maddalena. I'll tell you that Piazza della Maddalena is the heart of Savona's historical center and holds this name, obviously because of a shrine on the corner of a building. It is an eighteen century shrine and is dedicated to the "Lady of Mercy" which became the symbol of the old city.
Oh, I can just sit in this cafe and contemplate... You can have a cup of cappuccino and a croissant only for € 2.10. An old man was reading his newspaper there, a lady passed by for a quick coffee. By the way, Italians tend to drink a cup of coffee with one big swallow e fine.
After the pause, I continued my walk on Via Pia and thus I reached Via Paleocapa or the main shopping street in Savona. Here we are ☻
However, this story is about Via Pia and the little boutique shops on it. There you can also buy gifts to take back home. You can literally lose yourself along this street and its many branches where besides your shopping fever, you can see amazing architecture, portals, churches, taverns...
With respect to me, I didn't find feathers. Maybe I should look more thoroughly. Anyway, I had a great time. And talking about shopping, there is a detail to mention about. Most of the shops in Savona have a quite long lunch break - from 12.30 until 15.30 ☺ Italian way...
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