Porto Antico

Genoa's old harbour was transformed for the 1992 Columbus quincentenary in a redesign by Renzo Piano. Restored warehouses and new structures, including the Bigo and the Piazza delle Feste, reconnect the waterfront with the historic centre.

Why it matters

The Porto Antico grew from the Mandraccio, a natural shelter used as a harbour from at least the fifth century BC. As Genoa's port expanded westward from the late nineteenth century, the old docks became less central to maritime activity. The 1992 exhibition Cristoforo Colombo: la nave e il mare provided the occasion for a major recovery project intended to reconnect the city with its sea.

What to notice

The Magazzini del Cotone, a nineteenth-century warehouse extending about 391 metres along the mole, now contains a conference centre and other cultural spaces. Four seventeenth-century customs warehouses and the Porta Siberia fortress were also restored. Renzo Piano's Bigo recalls the cranes that once loaded cargo on the quay, while the Piazza delle Feste and its tensile canopy form part of the new waterfront design. The Biosfera, added in 2001, contains a collection of ferns; Susumu Shingu's wind sculptures animate the water's edge.

Context and history

The design was developed between 1985 and 1988, and construction ran from 1988 to 2001, with the City of Genoa and Porto Antico SpA as clients. Later additions included the Biosfera in 2001 and the cetaceans pavilion at the Aquarium in 2013. The redevelopment turned former port infrastructure into a public urban space between the sea and Genoa's historic centre.