Bolzaneto
Bolzaneto is a quarter of the city of Genoa, in northwest Italy, and is part of the Municipality Valpolcevera of Genoa.
Geography
Bolzaneto was once a hamlet located outside of the city limits in the
On the mountains behind Bolzaneto, at the left side of Polcevera valley, are two fortresses, which are part of the external fortresses of Genoa: the “Fort Diamante” and the fort named “Fratello Minore”. At the right side of valley, on Mount Figogna (804 m), is the
History
Until the mid-19th century Bolzaneto was a small village on the left side of the river Polcevera, near a wide bend of this. At the beginning of the second millennium the village was a simple group of houses around the church of N.S. della Neve (Our Lady of Snow). The town had been subject to the civil and religious authority of Brasile until 1854, when the municipal headquarters and the parish were transferred to Bolzaneto.
Brasile is now a little hamlet on the hill behind Bolzaneto, but in the Middle Ages people lived there who had important roles in the government of the Republic of Genoa. Near Bolzaneto, then on the right side of Polcevera stream, was located the monastery of San Francesco alla Chiappetta, built at the end of the 13th century.
In the 18th century, the
Starting on April 11, 1747, another Austrian army Siege of Genoa (1747) unsuccessfully besieged Genoa. The Austrians, coming from the North through the Apennine, again occupied the whole Valpolcevera. The prolonged occupation led to looting and destruction of the homes and villages in the region. In the weeks that followed, an army of volunteers of Valpolcevera, supported by regular troops of the Republic of Genoa began a counter-offensive, forcing the evacuation on July 9, 1747, from the Valpocevera of the Austrian army, leaving behind much of the area in a state of devastation.
The topography of the place had a great change in the mid-19th century, when the Genoa-Turin railway was built. It was necessary to correct and dam the frequently-flooding Polcevera river, eliminating the existing bend. A new path for the torrent bed was dug for about 500 m, by cutting the base of the Murta hill upstream the monastery of San Francesco (that so passed from right to left bank of the stream) and an
In the second half of the 19th century, the area, formerly agricultural, became industrial, with the establishment of several companies (the most important were the Foundries Bruzzo and the soap factory Lo Faro). In 1926, together with other 18 municipalities, Bolzaneto joined the municipality of Genoa, to form the so-called Great Genoa.
After the
Close to Bolzaneto there is a police barracks that in 2001 was in the international headlines, when there many protesters (arrested during the disturbances occurred at the G8 meeting in the city of Genoa) were imprisoned. Some police officers were accused and convicted of organised brutality on a large scale.[1]
Since 2005, the quarter of Morego is home to the headquarters of the
Main sights
Castle of Bolzaneto
The
Fortresses
The Fortresses called "I Due Fratelli" (The Two Brothers) were two fortresses said, referring to their position, "Major Brother" and "Minor Brother". They were built by the Savoy in the first half of nineteenth century, after the annexation of the Republic of Genoa to Kingdom of Sardinia, established by Congress of Vienna in 1814. The first fortress, shaped as a simple tower, was demolished in 1932 to create an antiaircraft position, the second one (Minor Brother) is still intact and overlooks the valley from the top of Mount Spino (622 m). The "Fort Diamante", on the top of mount bearing the same name, has been built in the 18th century, then completed and modified in the first half of the 19th century.
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Fort called "Fratello Minore".
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Fort Diamante.
Villas and palaces
In Bolzaneto and on
Among these Villa Carrega (17th century) and Villa Garibaldi (now both used as nursery schools) and, on the right bank of Polcevera the Palaces Rivarola and Pareto. Near the hamlet of Cremeno is the Villa Cambiaso, which was the summer residence of Giovanni Battista Cambiaso, who was Doge of the Republic of Genoa (from 1771 to 1773).
Places of worship
Church of N.S. della Neve
The first Church of N.S. della Neve was built in the 14th century as a chapel depending by the parish of San Felice of Brasile, restored in seventeenth century and completely rebuilt in 1855 when it became the seat of the parish.
In 1956 a new modern church, consecrated by Cardinal Giuseppe Siri in 1960, was built in another site nearby and the old church was demolished.
In this new church has been placed the
Church and monastery of San Francesco alla Chiappetta
According to tradition, the site of the church and monastery of San Francesco was given by the noble family Lercari to St. Francis of Assisi, who was in Genoa in 1213 during a trip to France, but there are no documents that attest that.
The donation of the land is documented by a Convention act for the building of the monastery and the church of Chiappetta, stipulated in the 1280 between the family Lercari and the
In the following years the monastery and the church were built, in primitive Gothic style.
In the second half of the 17th century the cloister was built on and at the beginning of eighteenth century the church and the monastery had been completely restructured.
The inside of the church was remade in Baroque (style) by the Lombard architect Francesco Muttoni (1668–1747).
Inside the church, which has a single
There is also a wooden Madonna by Anton Maria Maragliano (1664–1741).
In 1798, due to
As mentioned above, the monastery and the church, due to the work to embank the torrent Polcevera (middle of the 19th century), passed from the right to the left bank of the stream.
Transport
Roads
Bolzaneto is crossed by the National Road 35 “dei Giovi”, and the Highway A7 Genoa - Milan, of which there is an important toll exit.
From Bolzaneto begin several provincial roads that leads to towns in the hinterland (Ceranesi, Sant'Olcese and Serra Riccò).
Railways
Bolzaneto has a railway station on the line of Giovi (Genoa-Sampierdarena, Bolzaneto, Pontedecimo, Busalla, Ronco Scrivia). This line is covered only by regional trains from Genoa to Busalla, Arquata Scrivia, Novi Ligure, Alessandria, and vice versa.
Intercity trains to and from Milan and Turin, are routed on the Giovi branch line, which crosses longitudinally Bolzaneto, parallel to the line of Giovi.
References
- L. Persoglio, Memorie della parrocchia di Murta in Polcevera (Memories of the Parish of Murta in Polcevera), 1873
- F. Pittaluga, Soppressione e ritorno al convento (Suppression and Return to the Monastery), 1982
- M. Lamponi, Valpolcevera, come eravamo (Valpolcevera, how we were), 1983
- Guide of Italy – Liguria, T.C.I (Italian Touring Club), 1982
Notes
External links
- http://www.fortidigenova.com/ - Site about Genoa's Fortresses (in Italian and English)