SAVONA, A CITY TO DISCOVER (Commentary)

West of Genoa, in ancient times, it was founded Savona, called by the poet Gabriello Chiabrera-one of its most famous son-

"...the second gem of the Ligurian Sea".

According to the historian Titus Livy, the first news goes back to the 2^nd Punic War when Mago, Hannibal’s brother, destroyed Genoa and left in "Savone,oppido alpino" ten Carthaginian ships in defence of the allied city.

The oldest settlement was on the rock of Priamàr, which was at the time a rocky islet, separated from the coast by an arm of the sea. Then it was fortified between 1542 - 1544 by the Genoeses who had won of more than a hundred years fight with its rival city.

Even nowadays from its terraces at first sight we can catch the old town, that is always the pulsing centre of the local trade.

The very emblem of Savona is the Torretta, an ancient battlemented tower built before the 11^th Century and named after the navigator Leon Pancaldo, who was Magellan’s second-mate and pilot when he discovered the "Tierra del Fuego" and the South-west passage.

The harbour, since Mago’s times, has always been the first resource of the city: there were exchanges with Phoenicians, Greeks, Etrurians, Carthaginians and it has remained a flourishing and safe berth for more than 2,200 years.

CAMPANASSA (Campanassa tower)

Behind the Old Basin we find the heart of the city dominated by "A Campanassa", the mighty tower among other fifty little towers that surrounded it in the past. Now it is the seat of "A Campanassa", a cultural club for the protection of the local folklore.

Corsi and Guarnero, the two tapering towers beside it, stand there as witnesses of the old municipal splendour.

The washing is hanged in the sun from one window to another in the "caruggi" network in the shadow of the extraordinary cupola of the Ghibelline Tower.

Savona is said to have been founded by Saone, Jove’s son, and Taigete a companion of Aeneas, the Homeric hero that escaped from the distruction of Troy and mythical founder of Rome.

The present inhabitants of Savona are fond of their old town centre all around via Pia, where they love going shopping between Palazzo Multedo and Piazzetta della Maddalena, under the watchful eye of a little Virgin Mary statue that is set into a house corner. The street is skirted by a series of nice black slate portals which are often decorated in a classical style with bas-relieved heads.

Here is Palazzo Vaccioli: in the scenographical hall of the 15^th Century we can observe the characteristic "Laggioni", that is typical white-and-blue decoration majolica tiles.

In the nearby, opposite the Old Basin, there is Palazzo Lamba Doria, now the seat of the Chamber of Commerce. Indoors we can find the well restored frescos of the 16^th Century made by Ottaviano Semino, the artist who, in 1567, received just one golden scudo from the legal representative of Bernardo Ferrero, the owner of the palace, as a reward for his pictorial services.

The ceiling is decorated with pictures representing mythological and hunting scenes. There a sign of Renaissance emerges, especially in the grandeur of the busts around " The Allegory of Time" in the manner of Michelangelo.

 Some other precious frescos, dated few decades earlier, have been found by chance under a thick strata of plaster in Monte di Pieta’ Palace.

Going on in our historical route we meet the Bishop’s Palace, where Pope Pius VII was put in prison by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Facing a small church-square there is the imposing Cathedral, erected for Our Lady of the Assumption and dedicated on the 24^th April 1605.

In the interior there is to be seen a marble Crucifix made by Angelo Molinari in 1499;

a christening font extracted from a Byzantine capital;

a black slate bas-relief dated 1002 which represents Our Lady of the Assumption;

a Virgin Mary with Her Son in gilt slate coming from the ancient cathedral.

The adjoining and small cloister leads to the rich frescos of the Sistine Chapel, built by Pope Systus IV Della Rovere in 1490, according to Andrea Bregno’s projects, as a mausoleum for his parents, Leonardo and Luchina Monleone.

Just a few miles from Savona, on the road to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy, who appeared on the 18^th March 1536 to the farmer Antonio Botta, there are the late medieval bridge and St.Martin’s chapel.

The Basilica houses a precious treasure, exhibited in a small museum open to the visitors, where we can see the relic of the Virgin Mary’s voile in which Jesus Christ was wrapped up, together with holy paraments, chalices, ostensories and remarkable seafaring subjects "ex-votos".

Actually Savona is a city that established its commercial fortune on sea resources and even nowadays its harbour is one of the most efficient in the Mediterranean Sea.

Also Renata Cuneo, a sculptress to whom the city dedicated a museum which is now housed in the Fortress of Priamar, loved the seafaring soul of her town. Among the small and large sculptures exposed there is the imposing sweet Pieta’, an ephebic Muratorino and a Sailor who stretches out a blind lantern towards the sea, a beautiful sketch whose final version stands in front of Palazzo Lamba Doria.

The Archaeological Museum, that contains some remains of the old medieval town at the feet of the Priamàr rock, is housed in the Fortress.

The Civic Art Gallery, formerly housed in the medieval Palazzo Pozzobonello in the heart of the old town centre and now in the Priamar Fortress, contains several masterpieces - by Donato De’ Bardi, Vincenzo Foppa, Taddeo Di Bartolo, Ludovico Brea, Bartolomeo Guidobono- illustrating the development of painting in Liguria.

Among the others a particular emphasis is given to Eso Peluzzi.

The inhabitants of Savona are very fond of culture and history and gave birth to important art galleries as well as to the antique market which takes possession of the old town centre with its stalls each first Saturday in the month.

A typical and traditional product is the refined white and blue artisan pottery of the 17^th and 18^thcenturies, accurately preserved in the rooms of the Civic Art Museum.

...but the same love for their own roots keeps up the lively fish market.

Savona doesn’t live only on past glory.

Actually the Priamàr houses a museum dedicated to Sandro Pertini, a generous donation of the 20^th century art works collected by its most famous citizen, perhaps the most loved President of Italy in the last twenty years, who had bravely fought Fascism since the early days, suffering jail and exile.

PIAZZA MAMELI (Mameli square)

Savona doesn’t hide its fierce heart in defending ideals: it is sufficient to pass in front of the Monument in memory of those who gave their lives for their Country in Piazza Mameli at 6 p.m., when the bell tolls 21 times and all the traffic stops.

The symbol of the continuity between ancient and modern is the City Hall overlooking the central Piazza Sisto IV, built up in 1870 as the Nursery School "Queen Margaret". We can admire an important collection of big amphorae in ancient Savona style pottery on the great staircase after the hall.

In Savona art and commerce have got united and backed each other up since ages as it is shown in the large multicoloured Monday market which occupies a wide area near the Law Courts, symbol of a modern city that wants to be abreast of the times without forgetting itself.

We can find the severe glass towers of the Admirals, the 18^th century polychromatic pottery of the small Temple by Giacomo Boselli, the 19^th century arcades of Via Paleocapa, the harmonious and lovely Palazzo with Peacocks in pure liberty style.....

the dramatic Monument to the Resistance by Agenore Fabbri in Piazza Martiri della Libertà and the new Railway station "Mongrifone" planned by Pier Luigi Nervi together with the Provincial Administration Building.

Tradition and innovation live together and moderately in Savona.

A beautiful example is the Good Friday Procession when a big mass of tourists and believers gather for the occasion.

In the even years fifteen wooden"casse", telling the story of the Passion of Christ are driven along the streets of the old town centre.

The biggest is the Deposition of Christ by Antonio Brilla, being two tones in weight and held by 30 bearers. The "casse" were commissioned by the Brotherhoods of the City between the 16^th and the 18^th centuries, with the exception of the Judas’ Kiss by Giuseppe Rungaldier in 1926 and the Ecce Homo by Renata Cuneo in 1978.

The wooden groups, carried by an average of fifteen dockers wearing the capes of the belonging Brotherhood, are guided by a master - who beats the rhythm of the stops and goes with a hammer on the shafts- and come out of the city Oratories. Two hours and a half later they go back to their churches after the blessing given by the Bishop in Piazza Sisto IV in front of the Town Hall.

The "Chiabrera" theatre in neo-classic style houses a qualified theatrical season between October and May.

The Public Library "A.G.Barrili" is housed in the ancient former college of the Padri Scolopi

...with a department for children, ...a meeting point for the young and the adults.

This is the outdoor civic swimming pool where Rari Nantes, the water polo Italian champion team, play.

There is also another indoor swimming pool that houses the swimming schools, a breeding ground for future champions.

Here is an outdoor large steps theatre looking on to the beach in the public gardens in the suburbs of Fornaci which houses summer performances.

Savona is made of air and sea and very fond of the open space.

It is a hospitable city, but a bit reserved that opens its gardens to the plays of children..........

and becomes animated each Spring when the Milan-Sanremo bicycle race passes through.

Even the recent trade centre contributes to boost the flow of town visitors and to give a picture of Savona projected towards a new dimension.

"Savona -has written Vittorio Sgarbi- is a very beautiful, dignified and refined city.

Savona is full of mysteries, hides and exalts its inner and secret beauty".

A few kilometres off Savona towards North, plunged in the green of the Apennines there spreads the Commune of Stella, formed by five nuclei almost camouflaged in the surrounding nature. Stella is the birth place of Sandro Pertini, who was born here on the 25^th September 1896, antifascist, exile, tried in Savona for having favoured the flight of Filippo Turati to France.

Stella is nothing but an anticipation of that wide wildelife reserve that spreads out from Sassello to Mt. Beigua: In Sassello -name that comes from an ancient Ligurian tribe, the "Statielli"- the multicoloured decking with flowers on Corpus Christi Day remind us the love of man for his territory. The whole village is adorned with the flowers picked up in the surrounding countryside and there is no house, alley or square that is not embellished with plants and festoons of every kind.

Nature and culture coexist well in Sassello, where the small Perrando Museum, named after a famous Monsignor of the last century who studied botanics and archeology, includes a group of paintings, mostly belonging to the Genoese School (some of which are attributed to Magnasco an Piola) that the last heiress of the family bequeathed to the local hospital, together with the furniture of the Palace, on condition that it would be open to the public.

Sassello is also the seat of the regional natural park of Mt. Beigua, which extends for 18,000 hectares in an unspoiled territory crossed by naturalistic routes.

From the high of the big Cross near the peak, we can admire the sea in front of us, the Mt. Rosa Massif and Mt. Monviso at our back and, early in a springtime day, we can see the mountains of Corse Isle.

On the northern slope there is Alberola where many tourists can practise ski in winter having the resort modern ski-lifts.

Following the same theme of protected nature, we can pass from the dazzling white of the snow to the bright blue of the sea.

The island of Bergeggi rises West of Savona, perhaps an ancient Roman lighthouse and surely seat of a monastery of Lerins monks.

Its sea floor is an irremissible goal for scuba divers and is considered the most beautiful in Liguria.In front of the island we can enter, by sea and earth, a very beautiful cavern that testifies a human settlement dating from the Neolithic to the Roman Era.

Once past the rocky and precipitous stretch we meet the view of the ancient Maritime Republic of Noli, founded in 1193, where the historical "Regatta of the Quarters" takes place each year.

Even on the hills surrounding Noli nature saves big surprises: the Peregrine nests undisturbed on calcareous rocks not far away from the sea.

In the harsh territory of Cape Noli the bearbind flourishes: it is a small plant with blue flowers that we can find only in the North of Africa.

As soon as we pass the Cadibona Col we find Altare, where they produce exclusively hand-made blown, grinded and painted glass according to the noble art of the Monsùs, that was learned from the medieval artists coming from Flanders and Baccarat.

Those Bourdon,Bousson, Braund, Borgnolle, Raquette, Saraud will become Bordoni, Buzzone, Brondi, Bormioli, Racchetti, Saroldi still citizens of Altare, whose marvellous works are housed in the famous Museum of the Institute for the Study of Glass and the Art of Glass Making of the little town.

The works of craftsmen of Albisola is well known for its centuries-old ceramics. Such as the glass-makers, the ceramists put into practice the principles, forms and decorations linked to the marvellous past of white-and-blue ancient Savona or to pictures in the Caillot style.

And while the skilful hand of a potter’s wheel worker is creating a new shape from a formless ballclay in the presence of amazed tourists, it recurs the miracle of the creative fancy of these people, firmly connected to their land and traditions.

The poet Camillo Sbarbaro in "Trucioli" attests this impression of jealously preserved authenticity "My land, Liguria, contains a beauty hard to conquer".

©Valentina e Giorgio Godani