Monument

Timeless memorial

Stereoview Card – 1902, Underground Corridor, CAMP SANTO, Genoa, Italy $4.99

*Italy Liguria Genoa NERVI Boats ROWING Harbour Bay Sea MULTIVIEW Old postcard $8.00

Italy postcard Genoa Columbus’ Monument (39640) $8.00

Italy postcard Genoa Garden of Doria Palace (39691) $8.00

1876 print PORT OF GENOA GENOVA, ITALY $18.90

VIA MADRE DI DIO DI CARIGNANO GENOVA GENOA ITALY 1908 $29.97

1139-1252 ITALY – GENOA SILVER AR DENARIO EF40 ICG $250.00

ITALY GENOA Margherita Ligure view old pc $3.99

Genoa Italy Soccer Logo t shirt ALL SIZES $16.99

Genoa Italy Soccer Logo t shirt ALL SIZES $22.99

Genoa Italy Soccer Logo t shirt ALL SIZES $16.99

Genoa Italy Soccer Logo t shirt ALL SIZES $16.99

Genoa Italy Soccer Logo t shirt ALL SIZES $22.99

Genoa Italy Soccer Logo t shirt ALL SIZES $16.99

Genoa Italy Soccer Logo t shirt ALL SIZES $19.99

Genoa Italy Soccer Logo t shirt ALL SIZES $16.99

Genoa Italy Soccer Logo t shirt ALL SIZES $16.99

Genoa Italy Soccer Logo t shirt ALL SIZES $22.99

Genoa Italy Soccer Logo t shirt ALL SIZES $19.99

France Paris Hte Worms to Genoa Italy 1859 cover $32.00

ITALY 1943 Sc 221 ON MILITARY COVER TO GENOA $7.00

ITALY 1944 ITALIAN POW IN GERMAN CAMP CARD TO GENOA $7.00

ITALY @1910 PPC COLUMBUS MONUMENT IN GENOA UNUSED VF $5.00

ITALY WWII FIVE USED MILITARY CARDS TO GENOA $24.99

GB ITALY 1875 6d GREY Pl 14 LONDON TO GENOA $59.33

Italia Camogli e Valle di Ruta RPPC Genoa Ligure Italy $7.00

ca.1835 Strahlheim print CATHEDRAL IN GENOA GENOVA, ITALY $34.99

ca.1835 Strahlheim print VIEW FROM ENTRANCE OF HARBOR, GENOA GENOVA, ITALY $34.99

ca.1835 Strahlheim print VIEW FROM ST. THOMAS GATE, GENOA GENOVA, ITALY $34.99

MONUMENTAL BRIDGE AND VIA 20 SEPTEMBER, GENOA $5.00

LUGGAGE LABEL ITALY GENOA HOTEL MILANO-TERMINUS $16.00

Old engraving 1892 of Genoa, Italy Shipping 8.5 X 11 inches $7.00

1940 Vintage Photo WW ll Allies Attack Genoa Northern Italy $14.99

1940 Vintage Photo WW ll British Allies Warships Bomb Genoa Italy $14.99

ITALY: Villa Doria, Genoa, antique print, c1856 $21.92

GENOVA GENOA Italy Souvenir Photo Booklet 20 Vintage Pictures From 30s or 40s $4.99

The Fieschi Conspiracy Genoa Italy 1878 article $27.95

ENOVA GENOA ITALY Piazza Corridoni c1910 RPPC $8.29

A Beautiful Illustrated View of the Hotel des Princes Furstenhof, Genoa Italy $8.95

Genoa Italy home of Christopher Columbus 1876 article $27.95

Italy Genoa Street Balbi Palace Architecture1870 Antique Print $0.99

ITALY – COLOR POSTCARD – ‘CRISTOFORO COLOMBO’ of GENOA $1.49

SANTA MARGHERITA LIGURE GENOA LIGURIA REAL PHOTO $10.99

Italian Riviera Portofino Genoa Italy Black Watch $16.99

ITALY: Genoa Suburbs, sketch map, c1885 $17.99

ITALY: Genoa, antique print, c1885 $22.99

NERVI GENOA ITALY 3 Postcards 1905-1915 one rppc $8.99

CDV Photo La Nunziata Church Interior Genoa Genova Italy Date 1867 by Degoix $9.99

Stereoview Corridor Campo Santo Genoa ITALY Statues $8.95

Andrew Powell “LADYHAWKE” score 2000 ltd Genoa Italy CD $59.99

VINTAGE 1920s GENOA ITALY SOUVENIR PICTURE BOOKLET HARDCOVER 30+ $14.89

HUNGARY. 1901 (April 23). Cover to Genoa, Italy franked $260.00

ITALY. 1864. Cover to GENOA franked by Italy 1863 40 c $260.00

La Spezia Genoa Italy 1838 beautiful engraved color $38.97

ITALY 1916 MILITARY FRANCHISE CARD Sc 94 TO GENOA “XII CORPO D’ARMATA” $17.00

Hedley Fitton Reproduced in Tailo-Crome Ancient Portal to Genoa Italy Rare $175.00

FERRO-CHINA BISLERI WINE GENOA VENICE ITALY Trade Cards $14.99

ANTIQUE ART NOUVEAU TRAVEL SOUVENIR BOOKLET GENOA ITALY $4.99

Italian Riviera Portofino Genoa Italy 9mm Italian Charm $3.99

Italy Genoa 1921 to USA w/Steamship Illus cc Guido Scielzo $5.99

A SUMMER IN GENOA new release Romance dvd ITALY Colin Firth CATHERINE KEENER $3.99

STEREOVIEW GENOA ROSAZZA GARDENS ITALY $6.00

Italy Genoa Harbourg General Panorama old photo 1930 $16.80

Italy Genoa Pegli panorama old snapshot photo 1899 $16.80

Italian Riviera Portofino Genoa Italy Mouse Pad Mat $7.99

1902 NY to GENOA, ITALY Postal Cover #U330 ASPEGREN & Co PRODUCE EXCHANGE $4.99

6 Genova/Genoa, Italy Postcards $12.00

Italian Riviera Portofino Genoa Italy 9mm Italian Charm $3.99

RPPC 1937 Panorama Genoa Italy Liguria Co $4.49

RPPC 1950s? Panorama Rapallo Italy Genoa Co $6.99

B & W Photo N11293 Genoa Italy 1949 $5.98

B & W Photo N11294 Genoa Italy 1949 $5.98

B & W Photo N11295 Genoa Italy 1949 $5.98

B & W Photo N11296 Genoa Italy 1949 $5.98

B & W Photo N11297 Genoa Italy 1949 $5.98

B & W Photo N11305 Genoa, Italy 1949 $5.98

ITALY Genova GENOA via Luigi Cadorna ca 1950s postcard $4.90

GENOA ITALY PHOTOGRAPH 1913 OLD ANTIQUE ART PRINT $7.50

ANTIQUE 1856 GENOA ITALY VIEWS TURIN CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC SENATE PALACE SUPERB NR $9.99

Columbus Monument, Genoa, Italy 1890s photochrom. Photo $9.99

Piazzi del Annunziata, Genoa, Italy 1890s photochrom. P $9.99

1890s photo lighthouse, Genoa, Italy $9.99

1890s photo Campo Santo, Genoa, Italy $9.99

147.1840 Steel Engrv The Villa Doria, Genoa, Italy $21.95

GENOVA GENOA ITALY La Lanterna Lighthouse c1905 PC $4.79

1890s photo Corvetto Place, Genoa, Italy $9.99

1890s photo Piazza Acqua Verde, Genoa, Italy $9.99

1890s photo The cliffs, Nervi, Genoa, Italy $9.99

1890s photo The tower, Nervi, Genoa, Italy $9.99

photo The Cliffs of Quinto, Nervi, Genoa, Italy $9.99

photo The coast, Nervi, Genoa, Italy $9.99

photo General view, Nervi, Genoa, Italy $9.99

Soccer Italy Genoa Full Color Window Decal NEW $3.49

photo General view, Pegli, Genoa, Italy $9.99

ITALY MAP, GENOVA, GENOA, SESTRI, ORIGINAL ANTIQUE 1903 $15.99

ITALY: GENOA ENVIRONS. WEST. Old Map. Color. 1913 $9.95

ITALY: Ligure: Genoa La Spezia, 1953 map $22.99

ITALY: GENOA Area West. Sestri Etc. Old Map. c.1909 $9.95

Italian Riviera Portofino Genoa Italy Black Watch $16.99

c.1880′s PHOTO ITALY PANORAMA GENOA NOACK $30.00

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Searching for a 2nd Home in the Eastern Liguria Inland (Italy)

Our journey through the interior of Eastern Liguria begins at Busalla, where we leave the A7 Motorway to take the State Road n. 226 of Scrivia Valley. We will pass through the Scrivia and Fontanabuona Valleys, from Busalla to Carasco This is inland of Genoa and Tigullio Gulf, formerly dominated by the Genoan Fieschi family, who left in this area palaces and castles testifying still now to its ancient political and military power. At Carasco we will take the local road n. 586, ascending the Sturla Valley and then we will go along the Upper Vara Valley, to the village of Varese Ligure, a small gem in this pristine green valley, in the province of La Spezia. From Varese Ligure, you have the choice of continuing to explore the interior ascending to the Cento Croci pass, at the border with Emilia, or going down to the coast along the road n. 523 to the resort of Sestri Levante. 

Savignone and Casella are the first villages we see after leaving Busalla. Savignone is located in the Scrivia Valley, 29 km from Genoa, on a hill at an altitude of 471 m. The village was inhabited from very ancient times (remains date back to V – IV century B.C.). It came under the domain of the Fieschi family at the end of the XIII century. The Fieschi built a powerful castle for the defence of the village and in the second half of XVI century a residential palace which has been now transformed in a charming hotel. Savignone had its golden age between the end of XIX and the beginning of XX century, when the wealth Genoan bourgeoisie established their holiday homes there: many of them are interesting examples of liberty architecture. Nowadays, Savignone is predominately a residential site, where people can find a pleasant place with a good climate where to live close to nature and where the houses (may be even a small liberty villa) have affordable prices. Casella, similar to Savignone, had its tourist develop during 1800′s, when many rich Genoans chose it as a holiday resort. In that period, the Casella square was a summer extension of the elegant Genoan life. In 1929 a narrow gauge railway (it is still working) was built to connect Casella to Genoa. The railway crosses the Orero hill offering the view of a wonderful scenery. 

We continue to drive on the State Road n 226 along the river Laccio to the village of Montoggio(2,090 inhabitants, 438 m a.s.l.). Situated at the confluence of the torrents Laccio and Pentema, which give origin to the river Scrivia, surrounded by meadows, beech and chestnut trees and mountains over 1,000 meters (Antola, Liprando, Bano) with a breathtaking view of the Alps and the sea, Montoggio is the central point of the valley. From there, we follow the river Scrivia to the village of Laccio and to the Scoffera pass (674 m a.s.l.), which gives access to Bisagno Valley. After the pass, we leave the Bisagna Valley for the tortuous but scenic road which leads to the State Road n. 225 and gives access to Fontanabuona Valley, known for the slate quarries scattered throughout the whole area. The name (literally “Good Fountain”) seems to come from the excellent water springing from the fountain in the square of Favale di Màlvaro, a small village on the left side. The long quiet valley, which runs parallel to the coast for about 20 km, has a good tourist appeal (Moconesi for example is a popular resort), but in the last years the demand for residential houses is also increasing. People love to come to live in the small villages along this green valley, not far from the coast, with good services and lower costs. The village of Gattorna, in the upper valley,isknown for the tradition of “poor toys”.The pinwheels and the toys made of cloth or cardboard by the Gattorna toymakers, are featured nowadays by a small museum in the centre of the village. After Gattorna, we arrive in Cicagna, an important centre in the middle of the valley and a former stop on the ancient salt route (“via del sale”). Nowadays, Cicagna’s economy is mainly based on olive and fruit trees cultivation and on slate production: a museum explains the     processing of the slate extracted from Fontanabuona quarries). Then we continue on the state road n. 225 passing thru the many villages on the banks of river Lavagna and in a few minutes we are in Carasco, a lively village in the lower valley, at the confluence of three torrents: Lavagna, Sturla and Graveglia. We are only 6,5 km far from Chiavari, on the coast, and sea scents fill the woods, but here we have to leave the State Road n. 225, which continues to the sea,  to go up on the Sturla Valley. 

We take the road n. 586 (“della Val d’Aveto”), which follows the river Sturla passing through Mezzanego. At Borgonovo Ligure, we continue on the road 26bis and begin to climb among the beech to the Bocco Pass(956 m a.s.l). On the pass, admist beautiful scenery, we head towards Varese Ligure, the final destination of our itinerary. The road descends steeply to Vara Valley, the least populated (and the most pristine) territory in La Spezia Province. The large profussion of organic farms in this territory gave it the appellation Organic Valley. The village of Varese came into the domain of the Fieschi family in 1161, when they received the feud from the Emperor Fredrick I. In the XIII century, the Fieschi designed a round hamlet (the famous “Borgo Rotondo”) with boths defensive and residential function. This explains the elliptical shape of the village and the fact that originally the houses had no openings on the external side. To protect the access to the hamlet, a fortified castle (now privately owned) with an imposing high circular tower was placed on the north side. Varese Ligure belongs to the Club of Italy Most Beautiful Villages. It also received the Orange Flag from the Italian Touring Club and it is awarded as the most ecological village in Italy.

About the Author

Massimo Viola is the founder of Liguria for Sale, a web guide for foreigners who want to buy home in Liguria (Italy).