Shopping fever in Savona

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.

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...

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.

Swing at Brandale

Piazza

One Saturday evening, when the weather was really cold, we were invited by our friend Delia to go to a performance of Amici di Gjango.


Video made by Delia

It took place in a pub in a medieval tower and this is exactly what I'd like to show you here.

Let me start with the fact that the Medieval Tower of Brandale is the oldest building in Savona. It was built in the 12th century to defend the city of invaders. Its name in Italian sounds like this: Torre medievale del Brandale and means "light, fire". In the past, fire had burnt on the top of the tower and thus had served as a lighthouse. The place had also been a seat of the city's Podestá. I read in a document that Savona's independence from Genoa had been signed in the tower. 

It has been restored to its original size of 49.60 meters and now has been going through a renovation process again. A huge bell called "Campanassa" is kept inside the tower. The bell had been installed to call people to the parliament. Today, Torre del Brandale is also called after the Campanassa and is one of the symbols of the city. There are many interesting stories related to it and some other time I'll tell you more about them.

This is a view to Torre del Brandale from Priamar Fortress.

Amici di Django played at Bar "Il Brandale" which is located, well, in the very tower of Brandale... We hurried for the gig and when we arrived, there was a crown on the square in front of the pub and the tower. It was the first time I visited this bar and I was truly surprised to discover that the band performed outside on a square called, of course, Piazza del Brandale! And it was in the winter!

People gathered around heaters spread among the tables on the square and in front of the musicians. And despite of the cold weather the mood was more than allegro! Of course you can always warm with a cup of aperitivo (as Italians use to say) and dances but heaters were a good addition for our cold fingers.

There were people coming and going, old and young, with dogs or children, some of them accidentally came across the event as they were passing through the square from the old town to the docks. I really liked a couple who came with that small retro-style Fiat and left inside it two little dogs... as guards, I presume.

Thus before I drained my cup of rum, I had realized that it's really cool to be on an open-air live performance in the winter.

Photo's been taken by Delia

Among the songs which Amici di Django played I recognized the Russian Ochi chyornye, When the saints go marching by Louis Armstrong, and of course, they played really good interpretations of Django Reinhardt himself. It was so nice to listen to them with a cup of drink and friends... and swing steps. 

Besides, drinking wine is very popular and a bottle of wine is not really expensive in most bars and restaurants. Some of them even offer "wine of the day" in their menu. If you prefer beer, then better order an imported one ☺

I also really like how they serve snacks with every drink you order here in pubs and cafes. When there is a special occasion, like the one that evening, they always prepare a buffet meal and it's free... oh yeah ☺

And one of the best things I really liked about the place is the view to the old dock with boats.

View to the old dock in daytime

Not to mention the smell of grilled meat on skewers and french fries! I truly enjoy food.

The grill was placed in a side street besides Il Brandale and some people claim that Christopher Columbus lived there in his parent's house a long time ago. However, I found no trace of this... So if someone has information, let them speak.

At some point I heard the big bell, Campanassa, tolling, probably to announce that it was late. We paid small attention though. And the swing continued.

So if you'd like to visit Torre del Brandale and the pub called after it, here's how to find it:


View Torre de Brandale in a larger map 

Next to it you can also find the Port of Savona and an office of Costa Crociere for cruise services. Just drag the map above up and right.

Ciao!