One of the many busy roads in Manhattan early 20th century Her name was Angela, known as Angiolina. She was born in a small mountain village called Santo Stefano d’Aveto, in the high Aveto Valley in the province of Genoa, in the 70es of the 19th century. Angiolina was pour and illiterate, as most of the population of her native area, when, at just 16 years of age, she married Giovanni Cella from the same vilage. Both peasants and vegetable growers, they decided to follow the

In May 2025, José Alberto Mujica Cordano, known publicly as Pepe Mujica, died in Montevideo at the age of 89, after serving as President of Uruguay from March 1, 2010, to March 1, 2015. He was a remarkable Uruguayan politician and guerrilla fighter in the Tupamaros during the dictatorship. Before becoming president, he was elected deputy, senator, and, between 2005 and 2008, minister of livestock, agriculture, and fishing in his country. He was the leader of the Popular Part

An example of Olive grove in Tigullio area ready for the harvesting Cultivation and history of the Ligurian olive tree The olive tree is defined as a "slow" tree. It has its own pace, its own growth, its own wise behavior, capable of withstanding drought, nutrient shortages, adversity, and wind. It never dies. Today, it is considered a "tree of haste" due to the current methods and timing of olive harvesting. Nowadays, olives are harvested by dropping them from the trees on

Basilica dei Fieschi vineyard in Cogorno, inland of Chiavari Liguria is a region particularly suited to grape growing. Nestled between the mountains to the north and the sea to the south, its land is almost entirely hilly or mountainous. The beautiful, sunny south-facing exposures, the Apennines and Alps that protect it from cold northerly winds, and the sea breezes that mitigate the climate, making it mild and temperate throughout the year, create ideal climatic conditions f

The veraison stage, or the moment in which the olives change color and from green become purple, is the key moment for harvesting olives for oil. Ligurian olives, Lavagnina type from Gulf of Tigullio area, ready to be pressed View of a modern olive mill with continuos extraction system plant, inland of Chiavari The operation can be divided into three / four main phases: milling or crushing, kneading (essential for the "continuous" method), pressing and water /oil separation.

When the olive was ripe, as early as the end of October, but generally only in November or December, the harvest began: provided that it was a dry day without dew. A first method, far preferable because it prevented the olives from bruising, was to collect them by hand. For this use there were, and still are now, special ladders, with a lot of space between the rungs. This way the collector could give himself more balance by folding a leg over a rung and holding on behind th

Paul Tiscornia's family from Pontori - Val Graveglia area, inland of Gulf of Tigulllio - Genoa Mr. Paul Tiscornia from USA contacted me in 2024, saying he was born in Manchester area U.K. and that his family had Ligurian origins from a smal village inland of Genoa, probably called Nè. From his surname I rekoned the village was a good clue as a start for looking for his ancestors. Paul also gave me the name and birth date of his great grandfather, Antonio Tiscornia, from whom

Historically the Mediterranean sea has always been a basin recognized as a melting pot of races, religions, traditions, maritime and...

All started with an occasional reading. One day browsing on the web, Mapy and Angelo from Recco found an article describing a place in...

The Campanina chair, or Chiavari chair (incorrectly called "chiavarina") was created in 1807 by the Chiavari cabinetmaker Giuseppe...

The hazel tree is found throughout the Ligurian territory both as a spontaneous and cultivated plant. Since the past in the eastern...

The cobblestone mosaic in Liguria is called "rissëu". The known origin of these mosaics in Liguria dates back to around the 14th and 15th...

During the golden period of the Genoa alliance with Spain, for more than 4 centuries, the port of Genoa (today Piazza Caricamento) was...