Molo () is a neighbourhood in the old town of the Italian city of Genoa. It was one of the six sestieri of ancient Genoa. At present it is part of Municipio I (Centro Est) of Great Genoa.
Located close to the old harbour it had been for many centuries the seat of political and religious power of the city.
Etymology Molo takes its name from the pier (in Italian "molo") built since the 13th century by enlarging the natural spit enclosing Mandraccio cove, the oldest portion of old harbour, today filled. The Molo was further repeatedly expanded and fortified; now it is called Molo Vecchio (Old Pier), as opposite to the New Pier, built at the end of the 19th century at the western side of the port.
Demographics On 31 December 2015 there were 11,588 people living in Molo, with a population density of 33,109 people per km².Comune di Genova – Statistical Bulletin – February 2016, page 16
Geography Molo is located south east in the old town of Genoa and includes three zones: Hill of Castello, seat of the first city settlement (6th century B.C.), in a dominant position on the harbour. The portion of old town at the foot of the hill of Castello, for many centuries seat of political and religious power of the city, with the Doge's Palace and St. Lawrence cathedral. The neighbourhood properly called "Molo", with its old houses close to "Malapaga walls" and Mandraccio cove.
History Hill of Castello was the first city settlement, founded by Ligurians in the 6th century B.C., dominating Mandraccio cove, place of commercial exchange with Etruscan people and Greek colonists from Marseille.Touring Club Italiano, Guida d'Italia – Liguria, 2009 The origin f the city of Genoa in the site of the Treccani Encyclopaedia
This settlement was destroyed by the Carthaginian general Mago Barca during Second Punic War and rebuilt by Romans in the semi-plain area immediately behind the harbour, closest to the harbour.
During the Early Middle Ages large part of the Roman city area was abandoned and became a rural area again. After the destructions caused by the Fatimid raid of 934 the city was rebuilt again. The bishop, who held both religious and political power, possessed a fortified castle on the top of the hill (which gave the name to the hill itself) and a palace near St. Lawrence cathedral. The most important feudal families built their palaces near the cathedral, in the place where later Doge's Palace was built, making this area the seat of the city power.F. Caraceni Poleggi, Genova – Guida Sagep, 1984.
Since the 10th century the town expanded outside the walls, in areas at that time rural (as a reference, at that time date the names of some streets, like "Luccoli", from the Latin "lucus", wood, "Campetto", small field and "Canneto", cane field).The old town of Genoa in www.guidadigenova.it
In the 12th century the noble families gave rise to the self-governing commune of Genoa which included the entire area within the new walls, known as Barbarossa's walls, divided in "civitas" (current Molo) and "burgus "(current Maddalena). These families, constantly fighting each other, had their own private citadels in the alleys, each with a palace, a central square and sometimes a noble church, such as Doria in San Matteo and Della Volta in San Torpete.
Alongside the feudal families, since 13th century grew the importance of Arts and Crafts Associations. In that same century to protect the harbour the pier which gives the name to the neighborhood was built. Over the centuries it was extended several times, the last time in 1835.
In the second half of the 19th century the harbour was expanded, creating an area for ship repairs, with the realization of the first two dry docks.
During World War II the city was severely damaged by aerial bombings: on the top of the hill the monasteries of San Silvestro and S. Maria in Passione and many houses were completely destroyed. The subsequent depopulation caused the decline of this area,Riccardo Navone, Viaggio nei caruggi. Edicole votive, pietre e portali (A tour through the alleys. Shrine, stones and portals), Fratelli Frilli Editori, Genoa, 2007 , p. 33 situation well described in the film The Walls of Malapaga (1949).
During the last decades of the 20th century restructuring programs took place, and the neighborhood is now showing signs of recovery, with the restoration of homes and shops, the new building of Architecture department of Genoa University and cultural institution, like the Teatro della Tosse, boarding houses for students and meeting places for young people.Mauro Ricchetti, "Liguria sconosciuta – itinerari insoliti e curiosi" ("Unknown Liguria – unusual and curious tours"), Rizzoli, Milan, 2002, The action plans for the recovery of degraded areas of the old town of Genoa
During Genoa Expo '92 exhibition the area of the old harbour was redeveloped by Renzo Piano, making it suitable for public access.
Architecture Doge's Palace
The Doge's Palace, overlooking Piazza Matteotti with its neoclassical facade, was for centuries the seat of the doge of the Republic of Genoa.
The current building was designed in the late 16th century by , but its origins date back to the late 13th century, when it was built as a seat for the Captain of the People. The palace was partially destroyed by fire in 1777 and rebuilt later by Simone Cantoni, who designed the current façade. After the end of the republic it was used before as town hall and later, till 1970, as court. Completely renovated in the 1980s, since 1992 it houses exhibitions and cultural events. In 2001 the Heads of State and Government gathered in Genoa for the G8 summit met here in conference.
The annex tower, said Torre Grimaldina, was used as a prison for political prisoners: in 1833 here the patriot committed suicide.
Contiguous to the Doge's Palace is the so-called "Criminal Palace", built at the end of the 16th century. It had been the court and the prison for commons criminals at the time of the republic, now it houses the State Archives. Ennio Poleggi, The Criminal Palace of Genoa, in "La storia di Genova attraverso le vicende delle sedi e dei documenti dell'Archivio di Stato" ("The history of Genoa in the documents of the Archive of State"), Proceedings of the international conference, Genoa 7–10 June 2004.
St. George palace
Palazzo San Giorgio was built in the mid 13th century as the seat of Commune, but soon became the Customs office; in the 15th century it passed to the Bank of Saint George, from which took its name. Expanded in the 16th century, after a period of decline it was completely restored in the second half of the 19th century by Alfredo d'Andrade; since 1903 is the Genoa Port Authority headquarters.
The building consists of two distinct parts: the oldest one, remarkable example of medieval civil architecture, with the façade facing the porch of Sottoripa and a Renaissance part, facing the harbour quays, where the main entrance is.The restoration of St. George palace
Palazzi dei Rolli
The "Rolli di Genova" were, at the time of the Republic of Genoa, an official list of public lodging palaces of eminent Genoese families which aspired to host, by draw, foreign notable people visiting Genoa. Most of these buildings still exist, and in 2006 forty-two of them were inscribed by UNESCO in the list of World Heritage Site.
In Molo are 47 of these palaces (3 of which included in the list of World Heritage Site).
Other buildings Embriaco's tower, possessed by the family of Embriaco, is one of the few remaining of the many towers that in the Middle Ages characterized the old town of Genoa. The tower, part of Embriaco's citadel on the top of the hill of Castello, is 41 m tall and is built of large rusticated stones. Executioner's House (), in Cavour square, is a 13th-century house, traditionally believed to be the house of the executioner, as close to the place of executions. Now it hosts a small museum of medieval armours and weapons.The "casa del Boia" in the site of the Compagnia Balestrieri del Mandraccio Warehouses of Plenty (), in Molo street, were built in the 16th century as tra il 1556 e il 1567, to store grain in times of plenty (hence the name) and distribute it in times of famine. The building was used for this purpose till the end of the 19th century, now restored by Renzo Piano hosts cultural and educational initiatives.The "cittadella della sostenibilità" ("citadel of sustainability") in http://genova.erasuperba.it Architecture department is on the top of the hill of Castello, in the place where in the Middle Ages there was the bishop's fortified palace and later the monastery of St. Silvestro, destroyed by bombings during World War II. The red brick building, designed by Ignazio Gardella, incorporates some remains of the ancient monastery, including the bell-tower of the church.
Old harbour
The three neighbourhoods of the old town of Genoa overlook the old harbour. The part related to Molo includes:
Piazzale Mandraccio, the area of the natural cove that had been the oldest harbour, filled at the end of the 19th century. The "Molo Vecchio" (Old Pier) with the "cotton warehouses" ("Magazzini del Cotone") built in 1869 and used till the mid 20th century. Embriaco's pier, front of St. George palace, where are the "Bigo", a panoramic rotating lift designed by Renzo Piano, modeled after the ancient harbour's cranes and a tensile structure that covers the Piazza delle Feste, where in winter is an ice skating rink and in other seasons shows and events are held. Some buildings which made up of Portofranco.
In the Middle Ages the harbour was strictly linked to the city, but in 1536 new city walls were built that divided for a long time the city and the port. Only in 1992, being unused this part of the port, in the meantime enlarged towards the west, this area was redeveloped by Renzo Piano and opened to public access during Genoa Expo '92 exhibition.
City walls and gates
Almost nothing remains of the oldest city wall, called "Carolingian" (9th century), but large section of the 12th century Barbarossa's walls are well preserved (Grazie and Marina walls). Some remains on the east side of the hill of Castello ("Murette del Colle") came to light after the World War II bombing that destroyed the houses in which they were incorporated. The best known gate in Barbarossa's walls is Porta Soprana on the border between the neighbourhoods of Molo and Portoria; this gate, restored at the end of the 19th century and again in 1938, has a monumental look, with high semicircular towers.
In the 13th century the Old Pier peninsula was also included inside the walls, completing by this the fortifications on the sea side of the city. Large part of these fortifications, strengthened in the 16th century, are at present well preserved, and include Malapaga and Marinetta walls, with the city gate named "Porta Siberia", designed by Galeazzo Alessi (1553), which was at that time the main access to the harbour. It is considered a masterpiece of 16th century military architecture. This gate was called "Porta Cibaria" because through it passed the food stocks landed in the port (from Italian "cibo", food), later corrupted in "Siberia". Nowadays it houses inside a museum dedicated to the Genoese painter and scenographer Emanuele Luzzati (1921–2007).
Museums