Genova

In the words of singer-songwriter Paolo Conte, Genoa is a city that must be sniffed out by moving quietly through the narrow carruggi that the Genoese - "a rather untamed people" - have invented between one building and the next, between the mountains and the sea. Once, these alleys led only to the port, the sea and the boats. For decades, Genoa forgot about them and the carruggi had become just a labyrinth of alleyways where one could easily get lost. Then in 1992, the Genoese decided to revitalise part of their sea and their city, and the Old Port - Mandriaccio - once again became the natural point of arrival for those wandering through the mediaeval city centre, where the alleys suddenly open onto little squares and the black-and-white marble of the churches is half-hidden by the laundry hung out to dry. Sailing from the Old Port is like reliving the history of a port that has been active since the fifth century BC, and if you turn toward the city you'll get a breathtaking view of the lovely city nestled against the mountains, almost as if it were unwilling to face the sea. It would be pointless to try to list the hundreds of places to visit in the city. However, if you are in the Old Port, a visit to the Aquarium, the largest in Europe, is a must and you should also take this opportunity to visit the new Sea and Sailing Pavilion, which recounts the history of seafaring from the sixteenth century to the first half of the twentieth century. Inside, scenes have been recreated to depict the lives of sailors and fishermen. You can also observe workers intent on building a leudo, a typical Ligurian fishing boat, or visit the reconstruction of an alley from nineteenth-century Genoa, with stores and workshops, offices - scagni - connected to the port, the sail-maker's shop, the shop of the woodcarver and ship decorator, the Maritime Company, and the hydrographer's and flag-maker's shops. All the various stages of shipbuilding have also been recreated and visitors can tour the reconstructed interior of an old brigantine.