Ferrari

Piazza De Ferrari, Genoa, Liguria, Italy, Europe

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• published: 24 Apr 2012
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Piazza De Ferrari is the main square of Genoa. Located in the heart of the city - and in particular at the ancient district of Portoria -, it is the core business, financial and economic, as well as being the main point of reference on the occasion of the major events of the city life. The square, named after Raffaele De Ferrari, Duke of Galliera, politician and banker, has an irregular shape, due to successive urban interventions, which resulted in the merging of two contiguous areas, urban planning differentiated, as highlighted by the different architectural styles of buildings. It occupies a total area of about 11,000 m². The current appearance of the square takes shape in the first two decades of the twentieth century, with the construction of the three ways that will converge to the east, via XX Settembre (1892-1901), Via Dante and Via Petrarca (1901-1915), and the four large buildings in eclectic style, corporate offices and institutions, built between 1899 and 1923 in the area obtained from the excavation of the hill of St. Andrew. [2] in these contrasts, on the opposite side, the profile of neoclassical buildings made in the first half of the nineteenth century by Carlo Barabino in what was the ancient Piazza San Domenico: the Teatro Carlo Felice (1827) and the Academy building Ligustica (1831). Finally, on the side of the square facing the old town overlooking the side elevation of the Palazzo Ducale and two other historic buildings, dating back to the sixteenth century but remodeled in the nineteenth century. Towards the west, next to the Teatro Carlo Felice, open two other important ways: slightly uphill, in the direction of Piazza Corvetto, the elegant Via Roma, full of shops and boutiques, flanked by the gallery and Mazzini, slightly downhill, with outlet in Piazza delle Fontane Marose, the Via XXV Aprile, Once a Carlo Felice. In the space in front of the theater, where he was once the facade of the church of San Domenico, is the equestrian statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the sculptor Augustus Rivalta (1893). At the center of the square since 1936 there is the large bronze fountain, designed by architect Giuseppe Crosa of Vergagni and soon became, along with the lantern, one of the main symbols of the city. From the early years of the twentieth century the square is the reference point for measuring distances to other cities and places from Genoa. Although not the largest square in the center of Genoa, is still the main reference point for social and cultural events, such as political rallies and demonstrations and student unions, rock concerts, dance and theater. In some of these occasions was also found at the center of unrest, as happened in June 1960, during the protests against the convening of the congress of the MSI in Genoa, or during the G8 summit in July 2001. On 27 January 1979 there was held a large demonstration on the occasion of the funeral of Guido Rossa, the worker union leader murdered by the Red Brigades three days before the house in the district of Oregina. In the presence of President Sandro Pertini, in an atmosphere of great tension, attended by 250,000 people; This event marked a turning point in the fight against terrorism Brigades, witnessing the great distance between the subversive groups and the population, especially the working class in which the terrorists hoped to find consensus. Until the seventies has also constituted the largest meeting point of the young, before the movida Genovese takes up residence in the nearby Piazza delle Erbe. In more recent years, and on occasions not dramatic but festive, De Ferrari greeted with carousels and with the now ritual bath in the fountain, the successes of the two main football city teams (Genoa and Sampdoria) and the national team, as happened after winning the World Cup of 1982 and 2006. the square, today almost completely pedestrian in the nineties has regained its former glory after a massive operation of architectural restyling, which mainly related to the pavement, the fountain and the Palazzo Ducale, on the basis of a renovation project of Bernhard Winkler. After the war, the square was on several occasions at the center of protests. These events, despite their dramatic, gave a demonstration of the importance of the social role of this great urban space. The first of these was in 1948, the largest protest rally for the attempt on Palmiro Togliatti. The square, today almost completely pedestrianized, has regained its former glory after a massive restyling operation, performed particularly on the pavement, on the same fountain and the Palazzo Ducale, on the basis of a renovation project of Bernhard Winkler. Systematic restoration operations were conducted between the nineties and the early years of this decade, the first time on the occasion of the celebrations for the fifth centenary of Columbian discovery of America, and then for the meeting of the G8 in 2001.