Photo shoot in Nervi

Natalia & Wagner

The photo shoot in Nervi went wonderfully, even despite the cloudy skies. Because, after all, the sea is beautiful, regardless of the weather. Nervi is the easternmost district of Genoa and it is easily reached by train.

Was the district originally a Celtic colony? Possible. Its name comes from the saying ‘near av inn’ – a place close to the sea. Its most beautiful part is the Passeggiata Anita Garibaldi¹ promenade, suspended on the cliffs, which, attacked by the waves, leads to the quiet harbor. Perhaps this road still remembers its humble beginnings and the daily journey of fishermen and farmers? Or the glory years when rich patricians built their summer residences here? The growing settlement over time absorbed the parks of the seaside villas. The remaining fragments of gardens were combined to form the Parchi di Nervi botanical complex. The local people don’t talk much. Probably because they are drowned out by the sea.

Me, You and the Sea

Marzia Sicignano

Don’t just take anyone to see the sea, that’s a big deal. […]

Bring someone you don’t have to talk to, because the sea is a silent film that surprises you with its colors,
with the sensations it provokes in your guts, and not so much with the sound of the waves, of course, but also.
But what really counts, of the sea, are the nuances. As of everything that is beautiful, after all. 

Bring someone who has been able to show you that you are worth much more than you think, than what you would expect,
someone who makes you a priority and not a pastime,
who can feel your tragedies inside without thinking that they are trivial and irrelevant. 

Bring to see the sea, someone who can understand you without talking
who lift you up if you are lost
who lets you lean on his shoulder when you fall, […].

Bring someone, who makes you feel inside a perfect, stupendous chaos,
who makes you feel that it is beautiful to wake up in the morning, just beautiful.

Bring us someone like that, and you’ll feel like you’re seeing something amazing, something shocking
and you’ll feel like you’re seeing the sea for the first time in your life
because it’s so beautiful you’ve never seen it before.

I myself tried to translate a poem by Marzia Sicignano. You can read the text in the original Italian here. It is possible to see photos from other Genoa locations here: Boccadasse, Sant’Agostino and Palazzo Ducale, Via Garibaldi and Castelletto.