When greater Genova was incorporated in the 1920s the city incorporated a number of smaller towns to the east and west. The result is a city that now stretches along 30km of coastline and into the hills behind the sea. Many of the districts outside of the city still have a smaller town feel with interesting parks, museums and beaches to explore. And the best part is, you can get anywhere in Genova for a E1.20 bus or train ride. We visited Pegli, towards the western end of Genova.

Pegli’s big attraction is the beautiful Parco Durazzo Pallavicini. The park covers 27 acres that strech up the hillside behind the Villa Pallavicini. The park is an elaborate English-style garden designed around 1840. Now, there are dirt pathways that wind up hills, around bends, and down revines making you feel like you’re lost in a fairytale maze.

The first part of the park that we came upon was the lake, where the Temple Diana rising up from the water looks like a scene from Fantasia, and the Chinese Pagoda on a bridge across the lake looks like it came from Epcot. The lake was filled with turtles poking their heads out of the water, ducks gliding along the surface, and noisy white geese honking at the resident peacock. Just behind the lake the path curves, rises, and opens up to overlook the lake, where, on a clear day, you can see out to sea.

Paths lead deeper into the park to enchanting sounding sights such as the Swiss chalet and a 14th-century style castle, but because it’s the off season the passageways leading to these areas were blocked off. We covered every inch of the maze-like paths in search of an open passageway, but to no avail. By that point we had worked up an appetite, so we found a little pizzeria back in Pegli where we watched the waitress toss dough in the air to make our pizzas, and a little dog sat under our table during our meal. Dogs are welcome everywhere in Genova!

Last Modified : March 29th, 2007
Filed under : Italy, Trips
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