History and attractions of Savona

Source: www.italia-ru.com

History

Inhabited in ancient times by Ligures tribes, it came under Roman influence in 180 BC, after the Punic wars in which the city had been allied to Carthage. At the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it passed under Lombard rule in 641 AD (being destroyed in the attack) after a short period as an Ostrogoth and then Byzantine possession. Later it recovered as county seat in the Carolingian Empire. In the 10th century its bishops were counts of Savona, but later the countship passed to the marquesses of Montferrat (981) and afterwards to the marquesses Del Vasto (1084).

After a long struggle against the Saracens, Savona acquired independence in the 11th century, becoming a free municipality allied with the Emperor. Savona was the center of religious culture (13th to 16th centuries) due to the work of two important monasteries: Dominican and Franciscan. Subsequently, it fought against Genoa before being definitively conquered in 1528. The Genoese destroyed the upper town and buried the port. It then shared the fortunes of the Republic of Genoa until Napoleonic times. In 1809 the city received Pope Pius VII, prisoner of Napoleon Bonaparte, for a few years. Between April and mid-May 1800, Austrian forces besieged the city while a small British naval force maintained a blockade; the fortress surrendered on 15 May. Subsequently, Savona was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont (1815). Eventually, it became part of unified Italy.

Attractions

The Cathedral of the Ascension of the Virgin Mary was built on the site of an ancient temple destroyed by the Genoese. The impressive Baroque facade was created in 1886. Inside the cathedral you can see Renaissance sculptures (marble crucifixion, baptismal bowl and ambo from 1522). Adjoining the cathedral is the Museum of Church Treasures, which contains some paintings by famous Italian masters and valuable religious objects.

Not far from the cathedral is located Oratory of Santa Maria di Castello, 1544, which preserves a beautiful 15th-century altarpiece of the Madonna and Saints by Vincenzo Foppa. The name of the architect who created the cathedral is not precisely identified; Battiste Sarmano is most often named as the author of the project.

Sistine Chapel is located next to the Cathedral of Savona, it was built at the behest of Pope Sixtus IV in 1481-1483 as a mausoleum for the burial of his parents - Leonardo Della Rovere and Licina Monteleoni, who came from Savona. The Sistine Chapel of Savona has recently been restored and is now frequently used for cultural events. Its interior decoration was worked on by the artist Paolo Brusco and the architect Emanuele Tagliaficchi.

The Palazzo Della Rovere was built in 1495 at the behest of Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, the future Pope Julius II. The author of the project was the Florentine architect Giuliano da Sangallo, who was rewarded by the elders of the city with the citizenship of Savona in 1500 for his splendid workmanship. There are the court and the prosecutor's office in the building today.

The Leon Pancaldo or Torretta Tower is the symbol of the city and is located in the square of the same name. The tower is named in honor of the Savonian navigator who made the first voyage around the world with Magellan. The tower was built in the 14th century, originally called the "Lookout Tower" (Torre della Quadra) and was part of the fortress wall that protected the city from attacks. Only the tower remains of the city walls, which were destroyed by the Genoese in 1527 and subsequently reconstructed several times.

Torre del Brandale and Medieval Towers (Torre del Brandale e Torri Medioevali)
Archivolto Guglielmo Savonese

The Brandale Tower (12th century) belongs to the building of the Palace of the Elders (Palazzo degli Anziani), resting on Gothic arches that are, in fact, the gateway to the Old Town. The Brandale Tower is home to the bell tower, which contains a large bell called the Campanassa, whose chimes accompany the most significant events of the city.

The façade of the tower is decorated with a ceramic panel depicting Our Lady of Mercy, the patron saint of Savona, and the coats of arms of the families and dynasties that were in the city government.

Next to the square Brandale Tower are two medieval towers, called respectively the Riario Tower and the Corsi Tower, named after two powerful families that ruled Savona in medieval times.

The fortress of Priamar is located on a rock that was the site of the first settlement in the vicinity of Savona and then the medieval center of the city. The fortress was built by the Genoese Republic in 1542 as a symbol of the consolidation of Genoese rule in Savona after its final conquest in 1528.

Already in the sixteenth century, the Genoese fortress went through a series of successive transformations. The most significant remodeling took place in the eighteenth century, when a powder cellar, prison and ceremonial halls were added to the fort. Nowadays, after several restoration phases, the fortress is home to the Archaeological Museum, the Sandro Pertini Museum of Contemporary Art and the Renata Cuneo Museum of Sculpture and Ceramics. Conferences and congresses are also held in the halls of the fortress.

The City Pinacoteca is one of the largest art collections in northern Italy. It is housed in the Gavotti Palace, built in the second half of the 19th century. In the Pinacoteca you can see paintings and sculptures, among which are masterpieces of the Renaissance period, ceramics. The Pinacoteca has 22 exhibition halls, one of which is dedicated to works by Ligurian and, in particular, Savonian artists.

The Bishop's Seminary Art Gallery is a museum that holds paintings, sculptures and furniture donated to the seminary. Among the most important paintings are a 15th-century polyptych and the Holy Family by Van Dyck.

Garibaldi Monument. In the city's Dante Alighieri Park, in the center of Hero of Two Worlds (Piazzale Eroe dei Due Mondi) with a view of Savona's beach, stands the bronze monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi by sculptor Leonardo Bistolfi (1859 - 1933), which was opened in 1927. Garibaldi is looking west towards his hometown of Nice.

Boselli Gazebo. The Neoclassical gazebo is another Savona landmark, located in the lower part of the city's Dante Alighieri Park. The circular gazebo with its graceful dome was built in 1785 by the master ceramist Giacomo Boselli (1744-1808). The gazebo is beautifully decorated in a grotesque style.

Palazzo delle Piane. This palace is the most striking representative of the liberti style in the city. Also known as the "Palace of Balls", the palazzo is the masterpiece of the engineer and architect Alessandro Martinengo. The building was constructed between 1910 and 1911. The fanciful decorations were probably borrowed from the architecture of the Vienna Secession.

Savona Market. Every Monday, Savona organizes a huge market where you can taste and buy local delicacies and souvenirs (and a host of other goods) without overpaying the tourist-oriented vendors. Every week, more than 300 mobile stores arrive at the central Piazza del Popolo, offering enogastronomy, clothing, home goods, etc. at reasonable prices. The market is open until the evening.

Beaches of Savona. Since 2000, the coastal area of Savona has been  the blue flag of the Touring Club, an award that recognizes the cleanliness of the sea and the best tourist service in Italy. The coastline of Savona has a total length of 4 km, on which are located both private fully equipped paid beaches and beaches with free entrance.

What to taste in Savona

Traditional cuisine

The main and oldest dishes of traditional Savona cuisine are farinata and panissa.
Farinata or farinata bianca is a low pie made of a mixture of wheat flour (90%) and chickpea flour (10%), water, salt and olive oil.
Panissa is a dish made from chickpea flour that is then cut into cubes and served with olive oil, lemon or onion. Panissa, sliced, fried and wrapped in flatbread continues to be a favorite snack of the people of Savona.

Many taverns will also serve farinata in popular versions, such as with sausages, rosemary and onions.

Another popular dish of traditional cuisine is maccheroni con la trippa, a soup based on fatty duck or chicken broth with calf innards, pork salsiccia, herbs and cheese.

Traditional ravioli has been cooked in Savona since the 12th-13th century. Local production dates back to 1244 and it is believed that the Savonians were the first in the whole of Liguria and Piedmont to prepare this dish.

Chinotto is a rich, dark colored drink with a distinctive taste and an attractive name, "Chinotto".

Chinotto is a special type of bitter orange (hence the characteristic bitterness of the drink), which was brought to Savona from China by sailors in 1500. The fruit in its unprocessed form is inedible, so the inhabitants of the city had to find a worthy use for it. They searched for a long time - the fruit was added to coffee, decorated interiors, then began to produce jam (the process was very difficult and was subsequently abandoned). And only 2 centuries later, at the beginning of the 18th century, the drink "Kinotto" was invented, and then founded the "Union of Kinotto Producers", which included producers of the new drink. In 1877, the first company, Silvestre-Allemand, was born in Savona and began to produce the drink on an industrial scale and even export it abroad.