July 2 Funiculars (Day 279)
Another adventure exploring Genoa! Both Claire and I discovered that there are several funiculars (cable railways) and elevators around town to move people up the hillsides that rise behind the port and city. We used our newfound knowledge of the public transit system to take a bus to the base of one railway that ascends from the city through the Castelletto neighborhood and up to the Righi neighborhood where a huge park encompasses several wooded hills topped with old castle defenses. The Zecca-Righi Funicular is a regular commuter route, but we were there in the early afternoon so there were plenty of seats available.
The car ascends in a man made canyon and through a long tunnel with a few stops half way up.
At the top there is a great view looking back down to the city and the busy Port of Genoa, with a few ferries and (out of sight in this picture) a huge cruise ship! Turning around you are greeted with a view of the hills behind Genoa to the north, with communities filling in the valleys.
A couple of tourists!
We enjoyed a couple of beers and chips at the Astronomy Club bar a short walk from the station, but no walking the park paths today, way too hot! We caught a funicular ride back down, then a bus to the next train ride, the Ferrovia Genova-Casella narrow gauge railway that starts at Genoa Piazza Manin. This train is also known as“Ferrovia delle tre valli”, Railway of the Three Valleys, and takes passengers on an hour-long 25 km ride through the hills and valleys from Genoa to the small town of Casella (a municipality that is part of the Metropolitan City of Genoa). We got there all fired up for a ride and found out it was shut down for maintenance! Today only? Who knows! You can go on a virtual ride in this YouTube video. So we journeyed on to our next proposed ride on the “Funicular Railway Principe-Granarolo” on the other side of town. We got there and tried to figure out the schedule and where to board the train. We saw several people walking up and down the stairway beside the track and after about 15 minutes of internet research, we learned that the train is shut down for at least 2 years for upgrades! It looks like a steep ride in this YouTube video from 7 years ago! So far one for three, time to quit and get back to air-conditioning and rest up for another great dinner!
After a late dinner at a nearby restaurant we said our goodbyes because we had an early train to catch in the morning!
As we were leaving the ‘hotel’ Claire and Ed were staying in, I translated a poster board in the lobby and learned that the building was the Salvago Pinelli Palace from the 16th to the 18th centuries! After WW2, during which it was severely damaged, it was rebuilt and repurposed for offices and apartments.
It still retains some of the grandeur of a palace in the lobby and the entrance. Unfortunately, we never used this entrance, with the “marble portal consisting of 2 telamons (A figure of a man used as a supporting pillar) depicting two ‘wild’ men (in Genoese “sarveghi”) which allude to the owners of the house, the Salvago family.”