Entries with Dante tag

Nightlife And Culture

The old part of the city is crammed with bars ; the best thing to do is head for one of the lively and glamorous central squares where the local ragazzi hang out – try Piazza Bellini, a focal point for the gay community, or Piazza Gesù Nuovo. Bear in mind though, that things don’t really get going till at least 9pm. For nightclubs you may – due to the licensing laws – have to obtain a tesserino or membership card to acquire entry, which will cost upwards of L20,000/10.33. For the best of the clubs head around the bay, ideally with your own transport, to the places situated in the beach areas north or south of the city; the Qui Napoli entrepot has club listings. For more highbrow culture there’s the Teatro San Carlo, whose opera season runs from December to May, while the rest of the year is given over to classical concerts and ballet (box office Tues-Sun 10am-1pm & 4.30-6.30pm; tel 081.797.21.11). The Teatro Mercadante on Piazza Municipio (tel 081.551.3396; tickets from L27,000/13.94) is a stunning little eighteenth-century building, featuring the best of touring Italian theatre. Its long avant-garde tradition is upheld by Roberto de Simone, whose shows, such as the recent La Gatta Cerontala , are soaked in Neapolitan atmosphere.

Bars and club

Chez Moi , Parco Margherita 12, near Piazza Amedeo. A great club which has been going strong since the Seventies, with a small diversion floor and intimate lounges with server service. Frequented by an elegant crowd. Thurs-Sun 10pm-4am. Internet Bar , Piazza composer 44, www.internetbarnapoli.it . A central and stylish little bar, where for L10,000/5.16 an hour you can surf the Web. Mon-Sat 11am-2am.

Intra Moenia , Piazza composer 70. One of several trendy haunts on Piazza Bellini, where tables spread crossways the square. A lovely place to sit and read under the wisteria on a sunny day – it styles itself a “literary café”. Substantial snacks and fancy cover creams are served, and there’s a computer for Internet access (L5000/2.58 for 30min). Daily 10am-2am.

Jasay Nightlife , Via Marina. This is a relatively new club located between the centre and the suburbs; it has an alternative focus and is part of a project to regenerate the port area. Oct-April Tues-Sun 9.30pm-4am.

La Mela , Via dei Mille 41. A legendary and long-established club with an exclusive clientele and a resident DJ. Dress up to get past the doorman. Thurs-Sun midnight-4am.

Madison Street , Via Sgambati 30c. A huge upmarket disco with themed events and a gay night on Saturdays. Open till late.

Michelemma Club , Via Campana 12, Pozzuoli (tel 081.526.9743). An out-of-town option that’s definitely worth the trip; centred round a lemon and orange plantation, it features a vibrant dancefloor and a concert hall, as well as a handy pizzeria.

My Way , Via Cappella Vecchia 30c, off Piazza dei Martiri. A funky nightclub with a cave-like dancefloor which plays a range of music, from salsa to house. Oct-April Thurs-Sat 10pm-4am.

Notting Hill Gallery , Piazza Dante 88a. A non-mainstream club geared to Brit pop plus garage and drum ‘n’ bass, with live music on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Oct-May Tues-Sun 10.30pm-5am.

Otto Jazz Club , Piazzetta Cariati 23. A favourite talking club off Corso Vittorio Emanuele which also dips its toes into Neapolitan folk song. Has 200 cocktails on the menu. Daily 10pm-3am.

Velvet Underground , Via Cisterna dell’Olio 11. Plays an eclectic range of music including garage, and features live music by decent local bands. Oct-May 11pm-4am.

Virgilio Club , Via Lucrezio Caro 6, just below the Parco della Rimembranza, Posillipo. A fun and leafy outdoor disco that gets jam-packed on summer nights. June-Sept Sat 11pm-4am.

Category: Naples

Eating

Neapolitan cuisine consists of simple dishes cooked with fresh, healthy ingredients . Also, as city is not primarily a tourist-geared city, most restaurants are family-run places used by locals and as such generally serve good food at very reasonable prices. There’s no better place in Italy to take pizza, at a solid core of almost obsessionally unchanging places that still serve only the (very few) traditional varieties. You’re never far from a food stall for delectable snacks on the move, or you can always pick something up from the city’s street markets in La Forcella or the fish market at Porta Nolana.

Restaurants and pizzerias

Alla Brace , Via S. Spaventa 14-16. Good, cheap alternative just off Piazza Garibaldi that has well-priced pasta dishes and main courses. Closed Sun. Antica Trattoria da Carmine , via Tribunali 330. An unobtrusive trattoria which boasts a great central location and serves up tasty standards – Don Carmine’s seafood is particularly good. Closed Sun.

Antonio & Antonio , Via Francesco Crispi 89. A cheery no-nonsense place which dishes up enormous pizzas from L5000/¬2.58. No closing day.

Bellini , Via Santa Maria di Constantinopoli 80. One of the city’s most famous and longest established restaurants, though it’s whispered that the place may be resting on its laurels. However, it still dishes up delicious pizzas and a very good selection of other, especially seafood, dishes. It also has a great convivial outside terrace on the street, screened by foliage. Closed Sun evenings.

Bersagliera , Borgo Marinaro. Fine food, especially seafood, though inevitably you pay for the location, slap next to the Castel dell’Ovo, and for the ” O Sole Mio ” minstrels who wander between the tables outside. Closed Tues.

Brandi , Salita Sant’Anna di Palazzo 1-2, off Via Chiaia. One of Naples’ most famous pizzerias, said to be where they invented the pizza margherita in 1889 in honour of the visiting Queen Margherita of Savoy. Very friendly, serving pasta and (excellent) pizzas from L8000/¬4.13. In the evening, the tables outside in the candlelit alley are a lovely place to sit. Closed Monday.

California , Via Santa Lucia 101. Another city institution, though a rather different one, serving a menu that’s an odd hybrid of American and Italian specialities. Best for its full American breakfasts. Closed Sun.

Canterbury , Via Ascensione 6. Strangely titled Chiaia restaurant near the Pignatelli museum that is one of the best-value places in the area. Pasta dishes are particularly good – try the penne alla vodka . Closed Sun.

Da Ciciotto , off Via Marechiaro, Posillipo. Hole-in-the-wall place where in fine weather you can sit outside and enjoy the bay. Good seafood and fish. To get there, follow Via Marechiaro to the end, where it opens out onto a small piazza. Take the steps off the far end that lead down to the sea. Turn sharp right at the bottom of the first flight. Closed Wed.

Dante e Beatrice , Piazza Dante 44. A long-established restaurant that trades slightly on its reputation, not least in its rather brusque service, although its menu of traditional city specialities is still not at all expensive – and you can take outside. Closed Wed & late Aug to mid-Sept.

Da Ettore , Via Santa Lucia 56. An inexpensive, no frills, favourite neighbourhood restaurant. Short, reliable menu includes pizza, with wines from Campania, Sicily and Tuscany. Closed Sun.

Da Gennarino , Via Capuana alla Maddelena 1-2. Again among the best pizzerias in the city, well situated (opposite the Porta Capuana) for hungry arrivals by train. Closed Mon.

Gorizia , Via Bernini 29. Unpretentious Vómero restaurant close to the Centrale and Chiaia funicular stops that does good antipasti, great mini-pizzas as well as a good selection of main courses. Try the speciality of the house – veal wrapped around prosciutto and mozzarella. Closed Wed.

Lombardi a Santa Chiara , Via B. Croce 59. Another well-known and well-respected pizza restaurant, and with a varied menu besides pizza. Closed Sun & most of Aug.

O Marenaro , Via Casanova. Around the corner from Piazza Garibaldi, opposite the CTP bus station, this is a great place to try zuppa di cozze , with a couple of tables outside. No closing day in summer; closed Wed in winter.

Di Matteo , via Tribunali 94. A terrific and well-located pizzeria – one of the best and most famous in the city; Bill Clinton popped in for a pizza during the 1994 G7 summit. Closed Sun.

Da Michele , Via Cesare Sersale 1-3. Tucked away off Corso Umberto I in the Forcella district, this is the most determinedly traditional of all the city pizzerias, offering just three varieties (allegedly the only three worth eating) – marinara, margherita and ripieno . Don’t arrive late, as they sometimes run out of dough. Closed Sun.

Da Pasqualino , Piazza Sannazzaro 79. Inexpensive Mergellina restaurant with outdoor seating and great seafood and pizzas. A good bet also for takeaway pizzas if you’re staying at the nearby youth hostel. Closed Tues.

Da Peppino Avellinese , Via S. Spaventa 31. The most welcoming and best value of the many options on and around Piazza Garibaldi, with terrific antipasti. Used by tourists and locals alike. Closed Sat in winter, otherwise open every day.

Port’Alba , Via Port’Alba 18. Old-established pizzeria just off Piazza Dante that has a wide-ranging menu including very good fish dishes, besides its excellent pizza. Said to be the oldest pizzeria in Italy. Closed Wed.

Spaghetteria , Via G. Paladino 7. Inexpensive plates of pasta in a youthful restaurant patronized by students from the nearby university. Also features a great-value menu turistico (L14,000/¬7.23). Closed Sat lunchtime & Mon evening.

Da Tonino , Via Santa Teresa a Chiaia 47. Friendly and frenetic restaurant with large tables, around which everyone sits. Try their pasta e fagioli and pasta e ceci soups and, on Fridays especially, the seppie in umido – steamed cuttlefish. Closed Sun.

Trianon (da Ciro) , Via P. Colletta 46. Lively Forcella pizzeria that is a nearby rival to Da Michele (above), but serving a wider range of pizzas. Open daily.

Al Triunfo Mario , Vico Il Duschesca 10. Great, cheap and favourite eatery just off the Porta Capuana end of Piazza Garibaldi. Cheap pizza and pasta, and spit-roast chicken. Always full of locals and workers. Closed Mon.

Umberto , Via Alabardieri 30-31. A long-time favourite choice among the professional classes of the Chiaia district, serving marvellous food in somewhat smooth and old-fashioned surroundings that belie the moderate prices. Closed Wed.

Cakes, snacks, cover cream

Attanasio , Vico Ferrovia, off Via Milano. Bakery that specializes in sfogliatelle (ricotta-stuffed pastries). Gambrinus , Via Chiaia 1-2. The oldest and best-known of Neapolitan caf̩s, founded in 1861. Not cheap, but its aura of chandeliered gentility Рand outside seating on Piazza Trieste e Trento Рmakes it worth at least one visit.

Café Letterario , Galleria Principe di Napoli 6-7. An elegant café inside the galleria, within striking distance of the Museo Nazionale. Also sells books and posters, and has Internet access (L5000/¬2.58 for 30min; L10,000/¬5.16 for 1hr).

Remy Gelo , Via F. Galiani 29a. Off Via Caracciolo, near the hydrofoil terminal, this place does superb cover creams and granite .

Scaturchio , Piazza San Domenico. Another elegant old city standard, it’s been serving coffee and pastries in the heart of Spaccanapoli for decades. Has a small back room but is mainly a place to grab a quick coffee and pastry and move on.

Category: Naples

City Transport

The only way to really get around city and stay sane is to walk . Driving can be a nightmare, and to negotiate the narrow streets, hectic squares and racetrack boulevards on a moped or scooter takes years of training. In any case, not to achievement would mean you’d miss a lot – city is the kind of place best appreciated from street level. For longer journeys – and city is a big, spread-out city – there are a number of alternatives, both for the city itself and the bay as a whole. Public transport comes under the care of Azienda Napoletana Mobilità (ANM). Its city buses are efficient, if crowded and slow, and are much the best way of making short hops crossways the city centre. The bus system is supplemented by the metropolitana , a small-scale underground network that crosses the city centre, stopping at about four stops between Piazza Garibaldi and Mergellina and runs eventually out to Pozzuoli and Solfatara in about half an hour; a new metro station at Piazza Dante will soon connect the city centre with Vómero and the hills. In addition, three funiculars scale the hill of the Vómero: one, the Funicolare di Chiaia, from Piazza Amedeo; another, the Funicolare Centrale, from the station at the bottom of Via Mattia, just off Via Toledo; and a third, the Funicolare di Montesanto, from the station on Piazza Montesanto. Another, the Funicolare di Mergellina, runs up the hill above Mergellina from Via Mergellina. Tickets for all ANM modes of transport cost a flat L1500/¬0.77 and are acquirable in advance from tabacchi , stations, or the transport booth on Piazza Garibaldi; an all-day ticket costs L4500/¬2.32. Normal ANM tickets are valid for ninety minutes and allow any combination of bus or tram rides, plus unlimited trips within ninety minutes on an additional two means of transport – for example the metro, funicular (one trip only) or railway .

If you need to take a taxi – and you should realize that they can be interminably slow – make sure the driver switches on the meter when you start (they often don’t); fares start at L4000/¬2.07 for the initial journey – minimum fare L6000/¬3.10. Note that journeys to and from the airfield incur an extra charge of L5000/¬2.58; trips after 10pm or before 7am cost an extra L4000/¬2.07; and those on public holidays an extra L3000/¬1.55; all of which gives plenty of scope for confusion, and even resident Neapolitans are wary of the stunts taxi drivers pull to get a higher fare. There are taxi ranks at the train station, on Piazza Dante and Piazza Trieste e Trento, or phone 081.556.4444 or 081.556.0202.

For solely out-of-town trips – around the bay in either direction – there are three more rail systems. The Circumvesuviana runs from its station on Corso Garibaldi right round the Bay of city about every thirty minutes, stopping everywhere, as far south as Sorrento, which it reaches in about an hour. The Ferrovia Cumana operates every ten minutes from its terminus station in Piazza Montesanto west to Pozzuoli and Báia. And the Circumflegrea line runs every twenty minutes, again from Piazza Montesanto, west to Cuma. Tickets are acquirable at the stations, and are very reasonable.

Useful bus routes

#R2 Piazza Garibaldi-Corso Umberto-Piazza Bovio-Via de Pretis-Piazza Municipio-Corso Vittorio Emanuele-Via San Carlo-Piazza Trieste e Trento-Piazza Municipio-Via Medina-Via Sanfelice-Corso Umberto-Piazza Garibaldi

#R3 Piazza Trieste e Trento-Piazza Municipio-Riviera di Chiaia-Mergellina

#110 Piazza Garibaldi-Museo Archeologico-Museo di Capodimonte

#140 Via Santa Lucia-Mergellina-Posillipo Piazza Garibaldi-Pozzuoli

#152 Piazza Garibaldi-Piazza Municipio-Piazza Vittoria-Mergellina-Pozzuoli

#401 (night bus) Piazza Garibaldi-Riviera di Chiaia-Mergellina-Pozzuoli

#435 (night bus) Circular route from Stazione Centrale via Via Toledo and Piazza Trieste e Trento

Category: Naples

Castello Sforzesco

At the far end of Via Dante from Piazza del Duomo, Castello Sforzesco rises imperiously from the mayhem of Foro Buonaparte, a congested and distinctly un-forum-like road and bus terminus ordered out by general in self-tribute. He had a vision of a grand new centre for the Italian capital, ordered out along Roman lines, but he only got as far as constructing an arena, a triumphal arch and these two semicircular roads before he lost Milan to the Austrians a few years later. The arena and triumphal arch still stand behind the castle in the Parco Sempione , a notorious hangout for junkies and prostitutes.The red-brick castle, the result of numerous rebuildings, is, with its crenellated towers and fortified walls, one of Milan’s most striking landmarks. Begun by the Viscontis, it was destroyed by mobs rebelling against their regime in 1447, and rebuilt by their successors, the Sforzas. Under Lodovico Sforza the court became one of the most powerful, luxurious and cultured of the Renaissance, renowned for its ostentatious wealth and court artists like Leonardo and Bramante. Lodovico’s days of glory came to an end when Milan was invaded by the French in 1499, and from then until the end of the nineteenth century the castle was used as a barracks by successive occupying armies. Just over a century ago it was converted into a series of museums.

The castello’s buildings are grouped around three courtyards, one of which, the Corte Ducale, formed the centre of the residential quarters, which now contain the Museo d’Arte Antica and the Pinacoteca del Castello (daily 9am-5.40pm; free). The Museo d’Arte Antica holds fragments of sculpture from Milan’s demolished churches and palaces, a run-of-the-mill collection saved by the inclusion of Michelangelo’s Rondanini Pietà , which the artist worked on for the last nine years of his life. It’s an unfinished but oddly powerful work, with much of the marble unpolished and a third arm (indicating a change of position for Christ’s body) hanging limply from a block of stone to his right.

The first room of the Pinacoteca , upstairs, contains a cycle of monochrome frescoes illustrating the Griselda story from Boccaccio’s Decameron – a catalogue of indignities inflicted by a marquis on his wife in order to test her fidelity. It was intended as a celebration of the patience and devotion of one Bianca Pellegrini, and if you decide to near on into the first room of the main picture gallery, you’ll see what she looked like: Bianca was used as a model for the vocalist in a polyptych by Benedetto Bembo. In the same room are works by Bellini, Crivelli and Lippi, and one of Mantegna’s last works, a dreamy evocation of the Madonna in Glory among Angels and SS . There are also lots of paintings by Vincenzo Foppa, the leading artist on the Milanese scene before Leonardo da Vinci, in the next room; look out too for the polyptych by De’ Tatti, in which the castle makes an appearance as a fanciful setting for the Crucifixion, and for Arcimboldi’s bizarre Primavera – a portrait of a woman composed entirely of flowers, heralded as a sixteenth-century precursor of Surrealism.

The castle’s other museums are housed in the Sforza fortress, the Rocchetta , to the left of the Corte Ducale (same times). Of these, the museum of applied arts is of limited interest, containing wrought-iron work, ceramics, ivory and musical instruments. The small, well-displayed Egyptian collection in the dungeons is rather better, with impressive displays of mummies and sarcophagi and papyrus fragments from The Book of the Dead . There’s also a small and deftly lit prehistoric collection , which has as its centrepiece an assortment of finds from the Iron Age burial grounds of the Golasecca civilization, south of Lago Maggiore.

Category: Milan / Milano

Eating

Food in workaholic Milan, at lunchtime at least, is more of a necessity than a pleasure, with the city centre dominated by paninoteche and fast-food outlets. Don’t despair, however: there are plenty of good-value – and some extremely good – restaurants here, and you can take as well and as reasonably as in any other part of Italy.

Restaurants

Though many restaurants in the centre of Milan are pricey, expense-account places, there are a few survivors from a time when the city wasn’t dominated by the fashion crowd and business execs. Just outside the immediate centre, the Ticinese and Navigli areas are full of restaurants and cafés; we’ve also included a number of options around Stazione Centrale and Piazzale Loreto , since this is the part of town you’re most likely to be staying in, as well as a handful of places that are simply worth going a little bit out of your way for.

Snacks and fast food

Amico , Piazza Duomo 5; Piazza Cinque Giornate; Corso Beunos Aires at Piazza Lima. Chain of self-service restaurants that has several branches around the city centre. Brek , Piazza Cavour; Piazzetta Giordano 1; Via Lepetit 20. Chain of good-value self-service restaurants with an excellent choice of salads and freshly cooked main courses.

Burghy , Piazza Duomo 17; Via Cordusio; Piazza Argentina. Chain of self-service burger joints that’s more favourite with the Milanese than McDonald’s .

Ciao , Duomo Centre, Piazza Duomo; Via Dante, on the corner with Via Meravigli; Corso Europa 12; Corso Buenos Aires 7; Via Fabio Filzi 8. Citywide chain with good, reasonably priced food.

Crota Piemunteisa , Piazza Beccaria 10. Centrally placed bar and paninoteca with a vast array of chunky sandwiches, and wooden tables to take and drink at. MM Duomo.

Luini , Via S. Radegonda 16, just easterly of the duomo. You almost have to fight your way through the crowds at lunchtime to get hold of one of their delicious panzerotti (deep fried mini calzone). MM Duomo. Closed Aug.

Panino Giusto , Corso Garibaldi 125, Piazza Beccaria. Popular places that serve a huge selection of sandwiches. A good lunch stop between sights. MM Duomo or MM Porta Romana.

Spontini , Via Spontini 2. One kind of pizza only: tomato, cheese and anchovies on a thick, soft base served in various sized portions; at lunchtime there is lasagna too. Great value. MM Lima or Loreto.

Food markets and supermarkets

For real low-budget eating, there are street markets every day except Sunday scattered through the city, selling all the cheese, salami and fruit you need for a picnic lunch. A complete list is given regular in the Corriere della Sera under the heading “Mercati”. The most central supermarkets are Standa at Via Torino 37 and in Piazza Castello, Esselunga at Viale Piave 38, near Porta Venezia, and the tightly packed Centro Commerciale in the Stazione Centrale (daily 5.30am-midnight).

Category: Milan / Milano

About Matera

The town of MATERA itself is unique, with a degree of culture and elegance unusual by southern standards and, in its sassi – dwellings dug out of the ravine in tiers – one of the country’s oddest urban features. The sassi are mainly forsaken now, an eerie troglodyte enclave occupying the lower regions of the city. But until thirty years ago this part of the city was still populated by the poorest of the materani . During the 1950s and 1960s, fifteen thousand people were forcibly removed from the sassi and rehoused in modern districts on the outskirts of town. Since then the area has been officially cleaned up and is being gradually repopulated, and in 1993 was prefabricated a World Heritage Site. Nowadays it’s hard to picture the squalor that previously existed here, as described by Levi’s sister, in Christ Stopped at Eboli , who compared the sassi to Dante’s Inferno , so horrified was she by their disease-ridden inhabitants. “Never before have I seen such a spectacle of misery,” she said. The children had “the wrinkled faces of old men, emaciated by hunger, with hair crawling with lice and encrusted with scabs. Most of them had swollen bellies and faces yellowed and stricken with malaria.” Pursuing her, they begged not for coins but for quinine.

Category: Matera

Listings

Genoa - Genova

Airlines Alitalia, via XXII Ottobre 12 (tel 1478.65.642); British Airways (tel 1478.12.266); Delta (tel 1678.64.114); Meridiana (tel 0789.69.300). Banks Plenty are clustered next to Stazione Principe in Piazza Acquaverde, along Via Balbi, and on Via XX Settembre.

Boats Alimar (tel 010.256.775, www.alimar.ge.it ) and Cooperativa Battellieri (tel 010.265.712, www.battellierigenova.it ) offer 45min tours by boat around the port, departing from alongside the aquarium (every 30min, regular 10am-5pm; L10,000/¬5.16). Alimar also do romantic tours by night (July & Aug regular 9pm). Both companies run plenty of summer excursions west and easterly along the Riviera (generally L15-25,000/¬7.74-12.90 one-way), departing either from the Aquarium or from Calata Zingari next to the Stazione Maríttima. Routings along the orient coast are also operated by Golfo Paradiso, based in Camogli (tel 0185.772.091, www.golfoparadiso.it ), whose boats depart from Calata Mandraccio, just south of the Bigo.

Bookshops Feltrinelli, Via XX Settembre 233, has some English-language paperbacks, but Di Stefano ( www.distefano.it ) at Porto Antico and Via Ceccardi 40r, has a better selection.

Car rental Europcar (airport tel 010.650.4881); Hertz, Via Casaregis 76 (tel 010.570.265; airfield tel 010.651.2422); Maggiore, Corso Sardegna 275 (tel 010.839.2153; airfield tel 010.651.2467); Sixt, Via Montevideo 111r (tel 010.313.024); Swiss Rent, Via Canevari 191 (tel 010.882.248).

Consulates UK, Piazza Vittoria 15 (tel 010.564.833); USA, Via Dante 2 (tel 010.584.492).

Doctor Call 010.354.022 for a doctor on call; First Aid emergency is on tel 113.

Ferries Any of the shipping agencies under the arcades along Piazza Caricamento can give current details of the long-distance ferries departing regularly to Bastia (Corsica), Olbia or Porto Torres (both Sardinia), Palermo (Sicily) and further afield to Barcelona, Tunis and around the Med. Main operators are: Corsica Tours, Piazza Dante 5a (tel 010.593.301, www.corsicaferries.com ); Grimaldi, Via Fieschi 17 (tel 010.589.362; www.grimaldi.it ); Moby, Ponte Asseretto (tel 010.252.755, www.mobylines.it ); and Tirrenia, Ponte Colombo (tel 010.275.8041).

Flight information tel 010.601.5410.

Football Genoa’s premier side, the sporadically successful Sampdoria, play at the Luigi Ferraris stadium, up behind Stazione Brignole. They share the stadium with the city’s other major team, Genoa – founded in 1893 as the Genoa Cricket and Athletic Club, originally for British expatriates only. Bus #12 from Piazza Caricamento, and bus #37 from Stazione Principe, Piazza Corvetto and Stazione Brignole, both pass near the stadium; or you can achievement it in 15-20min from Brignole.

Hospitals Ospedale Galliera, Mura delle Cappuccine 14 (tel 010.56.321), is the city’s most central hospital, situated just south of Piazza Vittoria, while Ospedale Evangelico, Corso Solferino 1a (tel 010.55.221) is English-speaking. For an emergency ambulance, call 010.5551.

Internet access Amazingly, Genoa had no public access points at the time of writing, but word had it that a cybercafé was due to open on Via Ravecca in the old town.

Parking There are a dozen or so central car parks, all of which cost L30-35,000/¬15-18 per day; the largest is beneath Piazza della Vittoria (open 24hr). The old quarter is barred to traffic.

Pharmacies Ponte Monumentale, Via XX Settembre 115r (tel 010.564.430) and Farmacia Pescetto, Via Balbi 185r (tel 010.246.2697) are both English-speaking and open 24hr.

Police Carabinieri tel 112; Polizia tel 113; coastguard police tel 010.267.451. Genoa’s police HQ is on tel 010.53.631.

Post office Via Dante 4 (Mon-Sat 8.10am-7.40pm; staff at window 15 speak English). Sub-post offices are at both train stations, open same hours.

Taxis Radio Taxi Genova tel 010.5966.

Train information tel 1478.88.088.

Travel agents CTS, Via San Vincenzo 119 (tel 010.564.366 or 010.532.748); Giver Viaggi, Via XX Settembre 14 (tel 010.570.1241 or 010.585.010); Nouvelles Frontieres, Via Brigata Bisagno 19r (tel 010.553.6474).

Category: Genoa - Genova