- Bolzaneto
Bolzaneto is a quarter of the city of
Genoa , in northwestItaly , and is part of the Municipality Valpolcevera of Genoa.Geography
Bolzaneto, that lies in
Polcevera valley, in the recent past was an industrial area and now is surrounded by many small industries and business firms.Although it is located in a suburb, it offers the possibility of interesting walks on its hills.
Bolzaneto district includes the hamlets Morego, San Biagio, Brasile, Cremeno, Geminiano and Murta. The entire district has a population of 15,239 inhabitants (as of
December 31 ,2006 ).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
Shrine of N.S. della Guardia , from where you have a wide view of the valley.The Shrine, located in the municipality of
Ceranesi can be reached by the provincial road No 52.History
Until the mid-19th century Bolzaneto was a small village on the left side of the torrent 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), and 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 theRepublic of Genoa .Near Bolzaneto, then on the right side of Polcevera stream, were the monastery of San Francesco alla Chiappetta, built at the end of the 13th century.
In the 18th century, the
Republic of Genoa , allied ofFrance , was involved inWar of Austrian Succession . In 1746 theValpolcevera was thus occupied by an Austrian-Piedmontese army, leaded by the General Botta Adorno, which came up to Genoa, from where he was expelled after the popular revolt ofDecember 5 ,1746 , set up with the legendary episode of Balilla.On
April 11 1747 another Austrian army tried to occupy again Genoa.The invaders, coming from the North through the
Apennine , occupied the whole Valpolcevera, bringing looting and destruction, and laid siege to Genoa. Fighting took place between the Austrians and an army of volunteers of Valpolcevera, supported by regular troops of the Republic of Genoa. OnJuly 9 ,1747 the Austrian army left the Valpolcevera, leaving behind them death and destruction.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 torrent Polcevera (which frequently caused
flooding in that place), 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 embankment on the left side was built, on which the railway runs.In the old torrent bed gradually many houses were built up, thus forming the present town of Bolzaneto.
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
Second World War , the steel crisis led to the closure of Foundries Bruzzo (1957) and in a portion of these areas, near S. Biagio, was built the ERG refinery (then closed in 1988, also as a result of the growing attention of people to environmental aspects).In this area where there are now a large shopping center and a new residential district.Like this, other areas, abandoned since 1960, due to the closure of many historical factories, many small industries and businesses firms have now their seats.
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. [BBC 15 July 2008 "Italy officials convicted over G8" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7506609.stm] ]Since 2005, the quarter of Morego is home to the headquarters of the
Italian Institute of Technology (IIT).Main sights
Castle of Bolzaneto
The
castle was a fortress built by the noble Genoese family of Adorno.It was destroyed in the 14th century by the mercenary troops of theVisconti , being rebuilt by theRepublic of Genoa in 1380.Several times the castle was involved in fighting, especially in the 1746-1747 in the course of the
War of Austrian Succession , and also became the headquarters of the Podestà (major) of Polcevera Valley. At the beginning of the 20th century it was abandoned as military stronghold and transformed into a residential villa, then into a hospital, until 1990.Currently it is used as a rest home and hospice for terminal sick people.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 toKingdom of Sardinia , established byCongress 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.
Villas and palaces
In Bolzaneto and on Murta hill there were, in the past centuries, many villas and palaces used as summer residences by the noble and rich Genoese families.
Some of these survived today, although now surrounded by factories and sheds.These buildings, restructured, are used as schools, offices or private houses.
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 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 theBaroque altars and statues of the old church. In the church there are also two paintings byPaolo Gerolamo Piola ("Conversion of Saint Paul" and "Abraham receives three angels") and a "Dead Jesus" byGiulio Cesare Procaccini .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 inGenoa in 1213 during a trip toFrance , 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
Franciscan Order , implemented in 1291.In the following years the monastery and the church were built, in primitive Gothic style.
In the second half of 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 remaked in
Baroque (style) by the Lombard architectFrancesco Muttoni (1668 - 1747).Inside the church, which has a single
nave , there are some remarkable paintings from the 17th century: "Stigmata of St. Francis" byGiovanni Battista Carlone , "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary" byPietro Paolo Raggi (1649-1724), "St. Catherine Fieschi’s Ecstasy" and "Immaculate Conception" byDomenico Piola and " St. Anthony’s Miracle"” byGiuseppe Galeotti .There is also a wooden Madonna by
Anton Maria Maragliano (1664-1741).In 1798, due to
Napoleon suppression of religious orders, the Franciscanfriars had to leave the monastery and the church was entrusted to the diocesan clergy until 1896, when they could return.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 A7Genoa -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 andSerra 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 fromGenoa toBusalla ,Arquata Scrivia ,Novi Ligure ,Alessandria , and vice versa.Intercity trains to and from
Milan andTurin , 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), 1982Notes
External links
* [http://www.fortidigenova.com/primapagina1.html http://www.fortidigenova.com/] - Site about Genoa's Fortresses it icon en icon
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