Exploring Genoa - views from above

 We managed to see Genoa from above 3 times.

The first time we found the lift new Via Garibaldi that took us to a belvedere from which we had a great view over the port. It was cool and green and a world away from the slightly claustrophobic area where we were living. Another example of the many contrasts to be found in this beautiful city.

The second view was from the top of the Maritime museum

The third view was from the grounds of a grand house called Castello D'Albertis - the mansion was built in  the 1800s on to of old bastions on the top of a hill. What was remarkable was the lift that got us there - at first it ran along a rail on the ground as if it were a train or tram carriage, Then it stopped and after some peculiar cranking and whirring sounds, the same carriage became an elevator.

It is a unique piece of engineering. It is called the Albertis Castle – Montegalletto lift

The Castello d'Albertis was a strange place - a kind of folly built by sea captain  Enrico Alberto d'Albertis, completed in 1893 and gifted to the City of Genoa when he died.