Amedeo Baldovino’s Art

At dinner last night, Amedeo said I should tell him which work I liked best of his and he’ll paint me one like it.  I do adore that man but he took it a step further.  Laughing, he told me that he will be painting a studio with Di Mackey Photography into the city scene because that’s what he does so well .... he mixes reality with fantasy and imagination.

I loved the idea of that ...
Now to tell the Belgian bloke all the reasons why Genova would be such a good place to live.

Meanwhile, to Amedeo ... a long life to the visionaries and the dreamers amongst us!

Ghost Tour caccia al Tesoro Regolamento e Legenda.

I chatted with the young guy building the bonfire in Piazza Matteotti earlier this evening, asking him what was going on ... having learned that bonfires are entirely possible any place in Liguria at the moment.

He explained that there was a concert tonight, there in the piazza, a treasure hunt too (one I knew that I wouldn’t be going on), and it would all culminate in the bonfire being lit.  This bonfire was one of those special ones where you get to write your wish on a piece of paper and place it onto the unlit bonfire and voila ... your wish would come true.  (I knew I wouldn’t do that too…) 

The celebration, I hope I am right when I write that it was a celebration honouring Genova’s saint - San Giovanni.

So, tonight I cooked my last Genovese pasta and pesto dinner, I opened a bottle of red wine, started packing my suitcase then suddenly decided not to be silly and to go out and, at very least, visit the concert a while.

It was too much.  I saw all the families leaving on the treasure hunt, so I raced back to the apartment for my camera, having decided to tag along behind all the Genovese following the maps.  Suddenly, there I was, on a treasure hunt that took us all through the ancient centre of the city for quite some hours.

Genova has been kind to me.  I have had the very good fortune to meet some of her best people.

You see, once out there, I thought I should perhaps see if I could join a group. I tried a ‘scusi’ and asked if the people walking in front of me spoke English.  And they did and, even better, they very kindly let me tag along with their group.

We talked as walked, and really, I couldn’t have been happier as I photographed each performance, a performance that not only entertained but gave the treasure-seekers their clue for the next place on the route.  The performances were superb, just by the way.

It would have been so good had I packed my flash but I wasn’t going on that treasure hunt through the caruggi at night ...

We weren’t the first people to return to the piazza and so the honour of lighting the bonfire was given to someone else but it was a most excellent night.

Mille grazie to Federico and everyone else.  I realise, now that I’m home, I don’t really know how to spell everyones names so ... let me thank you as a group, for your generosity in allowing me to join you on the treasure hunt, and for your English, and your stories, and the foccacia. 

Scene from the Ghost Tour, Genova

I love my Canon EOS 5D Mk II ...

You see, I didn’t have my flash tonight and this ghost tour/treasure hunt took place in the narrow caruggi and ancient piazzas located in Genova’s historic centre.  Not only that, it took place between 21.15 and 23.45 ...

So, I spun my ISO up to 6200 and voila, we have what we have. 

Oh, and in the post below, I wrote of the fact that I knew I wouldn’t be adding a wish to the bonfire but do you know, like so many other things I wasn’t going to do tonight, I did it.

It’s after 1am here, I must find a way to sleep after the excitement of the treasure hunt, the bonfire, the good people and just being out in this city I love so well. 

Hmmm, buonanotte from Genova.

Karla Verdugo, Artrist

I met Karla Verdugo on my first days back here in Genova. 

She was exhibiting her art on Via San Lorenzo, nestled in amongst Amadeo, Franco, Angelo, Santo, Jane, Luciano, and Rossi.  Little did I know that this group would open and let a wandering kiwi into their midst in the most generous of ways.

Yesterday, I went back and spent the day with them, and Karla was my tireless translator.  We laughed often and there are so many stories totell about these delicious people but not today.  This is simply to post my photograph of Karla and to thank her for translating a most magical day.

Amedeo Baldovino, Artist

I met Amedeo Baldovino on my first day back in Genova.  He displays his work with a group of artists on Genova’s Via San Lorenzo.  I had noticed his work on past visits but didn’t like to bother him.  Each time I would think, ‘next time’ and wait for the courage to converse.

This time we talked, via another artist there on the street, Karla Verdugo ... a kind and patient translator of Italian to English and back again.  And I’m so glad that we did.

A plan was made to meet up yesterday, a photography session, a blog creation, and so much intense conversation and laughter.  Shannon is in the process of creating a blog for Amadeo, and others, and I photographed the bulk of his work on display yesterday.

Next weekend, I’m going back to get the stories of everyone else there.  I don’t quite have the names of everyone but there is an 83 year old who looks like he might be in his late 50s or early 60s, there is the artist who used to be a musician and traveled the world on cruise ships, and there is the man who is so proud of his grandchild. 

I love the warmth I find here in Genova.  The people have been so very kind but for now, here is a small taste of Amedeo Baldovino’s work.  This work is my particular favourite ...

 

That House I Love, Boccadasse

And there at the end of Corso Italia was Boccadasse ... still.

But they have painted the house I’ve been photographing since that first time I wandered here.  Not only that, it’s a restaurant now.

I need to pass by and casually case the joint one day soon, just to see if it’s a place I can afford to eat, maybe one time.  It was a house I would have loved to have lived in.  A dinner, out there on the terrace, seems like something almost as delightful.

We’ll see ...

A presto.


On Knowing Thy Bus ...

Can I just tell you how good my New Zealand soul felt, strolling alongside the sea on Corso Italia, here in Genova tonight ...

Living in Belgium I miss the kind of Nature I used to know in New Zealand but I find something of it here in this beautiful Italian city, surrounded by hills, on the edge of the Ligurian Sea.

Of course, the bliss I found there wandering was tempered when I realised that my particular bus stopped running at 8.35 ... it was 9.45pm.

Fortunately, an innocent bystander was okay with my English, and I was surely grateful for his.  Yes, that particular bus really did stop running and yes, I was stuck miles from the city ... ‘miles’ when it comes to walking back through the night.

No money for a taxi, I am one of those creatures who rarely have money, and so ... sadness and woe until he mentioned there was another bus, round the corner over there.

‘Home’ ... to this borrowed home I love so well, to a late dinner of trofie (pasta), pesto (of course), red wine ... Adele playing too.  The kitchen window is open, the street is still full of the noise of lives being lived.
I love being here.

Genova, after the storm

I had to wander down to the port this evening, and it’s not really my favourite part of town to wander alone, here in this beautiful city but I had to check up on boats trips and times.

The light was calling me ... a siren song really however I just left the big camera safely in its bag, chicken-hearted creature I sometimes am. 

Then wandering back up via San Lorenzo, I couldn’t resist.  I think you can see why ...

Shannon ... the one who lives in Genova.

I know this lovely lady living in Genova.

I just discovered that Shannon had posted about our meeting up this time.  There was the breakfast at my favourite cafe - Bar Boomerang and then dinner on my last night in the city, at a pizzeria-not-my-own.  And you know what, it was okay.  So I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending a pizza at Sciuscia e Sciorbi, the staff were lovely.

That was mostly me, when Shannon wrote of paying our bill with change ... I had 20.50euro in change and I didn’t want to carry it on the long trek home, nor could I afford to give it away.  The pizza and wine worked for me. 
As I said, the staff are lovely ...

Anyway, meet Shannon and Traveler over on their Genova Blog.

Art and Ancient City Gates, Genoa

In good times arts are magical, and in tough times they are essential. That’s when you need them the most.
Art makes you human.
Bruce Dethlefsen, Wisconsin Poet Laureate

I love the beauty of this ancient gate, especially that painting catching the sun on the day I took this particular photograph. The lovely thing is that this particular gate takes me back to Paola’s place and so I passed through it daily.

Porta Soprana is one of Genova’s five medieval gates and it was constructed back in the 12th century to deter Emperor Barbarossa.

Chiavari ... an evening out

I wanted to return to the story of Stefano, Miriam and a lovely evening spent in Chiavari, just half an hour's drive from Genova.

We actually drove through evening sleet to arrive in this small town on the Italian Riviera, in the region of Liguria.  It was dark but I saw enough to make me want to return one day.

Our first port of call was Paola’s beautiful clothing boutique, C’è chi c’ha, and after picking her up we wandered on to meet up with other friends of Stefano and Miriam’s.

Our destination was Ristorante Da Felice, the beginning point for my journey into the cuisine of the Ligurian Sea.  One that, unbeknown to me, would be continuing in Lerici in the days ahead.

Whenever I eat with Stefano, I always leave it to him to advise me on the menu, as no one knows more than a local.  The proof would be in the fact that I have never had a bad meal with him.  And that evening was no exception.

I began with this delightful shrimp dish before moving on to the mighty Palamite nell’ Arbanella ... and I may or may not have that correctly written but it was a startling dish.  The fish is a Palamita and is a predator, like tuna, as you can see in the youtube I hunted down.

The photograph gives you an idea of the unusual presentation - Stefano persevered, in low light and with his cellphone camera, wanting to capture this dish that was unusual even to them.  The fish was served up in a small glass preserving jar, seasoned with a little lemon and herb ... it tasted delightful.

Dessert was a small selection of deliciousness, as the waiter and Stefano plotted a serving that worked around my problems with fresh fruit.

It was a lovely evening with good people and delicious food in a beautiful place.  Grazie to the very kind people from Genova, who included me in an evening I won’t forget.

The Caruggi, Genoa

I want to return to the caruggi of Genova, with a tripod and someone to wander with ... as they aren’t always the wisest of places to pull out a big camera and get lost in your work however, that said, I’ve never had any trouble in there.

I love the ancient alleyways here in the historical heart of Genova.  The general rule of thumb is that if the street lights aren’t working, then avoid them.  But some have been renovated and I find most of them beautiful, even the dilapidated crumbling ones.

One story goes that, for military reasons, the streets were made narrow and the houses were built close together to slow down the invaders, most particularly the Moors, who frequently attacked this ancient city.  I read that the people of Lombard, the Normans and the Saracen also attacked Genova. 

Actually, talking of invaders, in 1155, the hugely impressive city wall was built to protect the city from Emperor Federico Barbarossa ... the man I had only previously known as Barbarossa.  And then the 16th century was known as the Century of the Genovese and local banks here were lending money to the European monarchs, making it one of the most powerful cities of the time.

Oh yes, an impressive city, an impressive history.

The Lion of Cattedrale Di San Lorenzo, Genoa

I love this particular lion guarding Cattedrale Di San Lorenzo.  I can’t resist taking more photographs each time I walk by.

Today, it seemed like I caught him asleep.  Anyway, San Lorenzo’s Cathedral is Genova’s main cathedral and was begun back in 1155.  Like so many old buildings in Europe, there was fire, back in 1296.  The facade, is a gothic masterpiece completed between 1307 and 1312.

There is so much more about the cathedral but me, I’m in love with the lion.