Genova Nervi – The most beautiful walk in the world!

I went to Nervi to visit my parents, I went without my camera, since I did not find it polite (yes I know, a blogger never goes out without his camera), but let’s not mention it, as it still makes me mad. It so happened that my mother proposes to go for a walk, I agree, we go out, we cross the road, we turn right, we walk down a hundred meters and then turn left along a narrow road…and this is were I found myself!

Now imagine my…let’s call it disappointment, since I didn’t have my camera with me, I was on Nervi’s promenade practically naked !

But a real blogger never looses his spirit and uses what he can, so many episodes of McGyver must have taught me something. My i-Phone will be the solution, an excellent phone if you wish to know the temperature in Tokyo, catalogue the books of your library, read a newspaper, check what’s new on Facebook, twitter and so on, it’s perfect even for peeping at Paolo Fox’s horoscope, but nothing much as a camera, especially my 3g (it was a gift and I love it, but when it comes to photos…).

But that’s enough blabbering, now I want to tell you about this walk. During the years it’s name has changed various times, until in 1945 it was finally called “Anita Garibaldi’s walk”, but to all it is simply known as Nervi’s walk.
It was used since the beginning of the nineteenth century as a passage to reach fishing areas and cultivated land, that at the time bordered the sea. It was only in 1862 that Marches Gaetano Gropallo had the farseeing idea to change it into a seafront promenade, technical details and dates are available on wikipedia. What I want to do is tell you about the magic of this place.

Stolen from the sea and the hill, protected on it’s northern side by great dry stone walls, cragged on a jagged and irregular cliff, valued by a mediterranean bush of agave, palms, and maritime pine trees, the promenade leaves the lucky viewer gob smacked, drunk on the endless details that invade the sole at every blink.

From this point, we could still believe today that the earth is flat, since it’s difficult to imagine another sea, other green, other things beyond that horizon, so perfect from whatever side you admire it.

And just like the guests of an over a highly garnished table, the only painful note is the awareness of not being able to appreciate every single detail of this shameless beauty, lavished with generosity that is not typical of this area.

We reach an area where small fishing boats are berthed on the shore, this surely is not the right way to say it, but I don’t know the technical lingo (look at the pictures to understand !), the locals walking by, mingle with the tourist, I hear the various accents crossing, they all stroll leisurely, to better absorb the pleasures of this day. It happens that absently you cross another’s sight, each time an unintended smile of complicity, we are all part of this splendor.

Before returning home, we sit on one of the blue benches strategically displaced along the promenade. The waves sing as they meet the rocks, they tell about travels, need for love and then they proudly raw their beauty and importance. The sun seems to hide behind a passing cloud, while the sky observes silently, presenting us shades of blue that we could not find in Caran d’Aches’s box of 60 watercolor pencils.
I feel good now, I think they call it peace, yes I really think that’s what they call it and I think I will stay here, on this bench for a little longer.

Genova Nervi – Liguria
La passeggiata più bella del mondo!

writing and photography by paola faravelli
translated and adapted by daniela menzano

*grazie al mio i-Phone e a te che me l’hai regalato