Genoa is full of surprises – even for routine visitors like us. Although we have come often over the years – we love Genoa’s “big city feel” that no other place near us can match – we still discover new things every time we visit.
Most recently, strangely enough, we saw for the first time something that appears to have a firm place on the agenda of many first-time visitors: the Salita alla Spianata di Castelletto.
Or rather, we discovered what the Salita leads to: the belvedere on top of the Castelletto hill that offers magnificent views over the city.
There are many places with panoramic views in Genoa, a city that is built like an amphitheatre around the Gulf that bears its name, but this one beats them all.
What is it that makes the Spianata di Castelletto so superior to all the other “hills with a view” across town? Well, there are three reasons for making it a panorama seeker’s first choice.
Reason number one: the Castelletto hill is rather central and not very high, so everything in town that you can see from its top is rather close-by.
What opens up in front of you is not a pixelated townscape in which the individual buildings disappear: you can still make them out and identify them, albeit (perhaps) with a little help.
Reason number two: the top of the Castelletto hill is open on four sides and offers you a full 360-degree picture. And what’s more, depending on the direction in which you are looking, you can also choose between perspectives of different styles.
For example, the western side of the promenade that leads around the hill offers you more of a sweeping overview…
… while some steps on your left later and a few degrees further to the south, the houses and the gardens on the slopes of the Castelletto hill enrich this overview with a bit more detail.
Plus, wherever you go walking around the top of the hill, you will find unconventional and intriguing angles.
Reason number three: the top of the Castelletto hill is interesting not only for the panoramic views it offers.
After the medieval fortress that had stood here since the 11th century was razed in 1850, the area – due to its views, central location and lofty distance from the busy inner city streets – attracted many members of Genoa’s wealthy and prosperous middle classes.
Even today, this is one of the most elegant living quarters of the historic old town.
And here is an added bonus for lazy visitors: if you want to avoid the short uphill walk to the top of the hill, an elevator can take you all the way up from Piazza Portello.
But you would miss some of the best bits of the trip and many scenic photo opportunities. Which is why we recommend to take the footpath up the hill.
How to Get to the Castelletto in Genoa – Hill With a View
This route starts on Salita San Francesco just off the Strada Nuova (also known as Via Garibaldi), the main artery of Genoa’s historic town centre.
After a few turns, the Salita San Franscesco will merge into the Salita alla Spianata which leads you in a few minutes straight to Belvedere.
For your way down from the Castelletto, we suggest you choose an alternative route – there is one on each side of the hill.
You might, for example, walk back downtown via the Salita di San Gerolamo on the eastern side of the hill. This route provides an excellent introduction into the charms of Genoa and the cheek-by-jowl vicinity of ornate apartment buildings and fancy gardens …
… with more down-to-earth residential quarters.
All of that comes with a short trip that will take less than 2 hours in total out of your travel schedule. First-time as well as frequent visitors can’t do much better than that.
