The medieval streets of Genoa - the carruggi

 We knew when we booked it  that our accommodation was in  a small alley. The owner made it quite clear in the listing that along the street there were ‘working girls’, but they were just going about their business . And that was the case. Below is the alley where we had the apartment, the working women hovered in doorways.

Below, other alleys

What we had not fully grasped was that we were right in the middle of a collection of palaces that were on the ‘must see’ list of places to see. If we turned right when we left the apartment we were among some of the most sumptuous and palatial UNESCO listed buildings in the world. Turn left and we were in the narrow alleys and the dark and dingy world of the prostitutes, Indian tailors and small businesses run by immigrants. We were also a couple of  blocks from the port.

I pride myself on having a good sense of direction, but I got hopelessly lost not just once, but several times.

The carruggi date back to medieval times - they form a labyrinth, and the buildings are up to 8 stories high, and this height is at times overwhelming.

While we had read that Genoa was grungy and potentially dangerous, we felt safe the entire time. The famous small streets or ‘carruggi’ have been a bit gentrified (there was graffiti protesting about this) and a ‘danger’ was being walked into by tourists on their phones, or running the gauntlet of a herd of tourists off a cruise ship on a guided tour. 

The  old traditional trade and  artisan shops in the streets named after them ,  "street of the butcher/ the ironworker/baker etc" have become consciously part of the cultural heritage and are presented as such.

The coffee roasters

The delicatessan

On many corners there are niches with devotional items

Above, on the corner of te street of hope and the Smaller Street of Iron