Boccadasse

Boccadasse (Boca d'azë or Bocadâze in the Genoese dialect) is an ancient fishing village of the city of Genoa, which is part of the district of Albaro. The name derives from the shape of the small bay: Boccadasse would mean the mouth of the ass (Bocca d'azë). According to legend the village was founded around the year 1000 by some Spanish fishermen that, caught by a storm, found refuge in this bay. By the name of their captain (De Odero or Donderos), would be derived the surname Dodero, still prevalent today in the area.

With its houses from the pastel shades are huddled together and narrow around a small bay, even if now surrounded by city context, the village has retained almost unchanged in time, as you could see one or two centuries ago, circumstance that has made it one of the most popular tourist attractions in Genoa. The great charm of this place is also due to the fact that it is not a simple preservation of the past for tourist purposes, but a village alive and vital, where still some fishermen continue their old activity. Today, alongside them, there are ice cream parlors and restaurants and small art galleries. Boccadasse is the traditional point of arrival of the walks of the Genoese in Corso Italia, the popular promenade from the mouth crosses the whole district of Albaro and terminates in correspondence of the church dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua, where are kept many ex-voto linked to the tragedies of seafarers. On the back of the church there is a panoramic square named after the poet Edoardo Firpo from which you can enjoy the panorama of the underlying borgo marinaro. From the belvedere Firpo access to the town is through a staircase or traveling along the via Aurora, a typical "ligurian crêuza". Another "crêuza" in the east of piazzetta dates back to the cape of S. Clear and then down to the Vernazzola, fraction of the district of Sturla and ancient landing point at which accounted for the track that brought in the hinterland through the valley Sturla. From the belvedere at the top of the Cape Santa Chiara, dominated by the castle Türcke, medioevaleggiante building in Art Nouveau style, built in 1903 on a project by Gino Coppedè, you can enjoy a wide panorama on the Levante Genovese up to the promontory of Portofino.