As the trip is winding down our group is attempting to visit any sites or shops that we have missed along the way. Today we headed downtown to visit Rolli Days. Rolli Days is an event in Genoa that allows visitors to enter sites on the Rolli di Genova. Created in 1576, the Rolli di Genova is an official list of public lodging palaces that hosted travelers who entered a public lottery. The palaces became prominent stops for those taking The Grand Tour. In 2006, 42 of the 80 palazzi on the Rolli were designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Most of the palazzi are located along Via Garibaldi and currently house a variety of institutions from museums to banks. During Rolli Days, the palazzi are open to the public and some provide guided tours or feature contemporary art installations. We began our tour with two palazzi that currently house academic buildings of the University of Genoa. After our first tour we walked out to find another exciting event, the Vespa Parade! This event had been scheduled for Saturday, but due to the bad weather it was rescheduled for today and we were lucky enough to see the action. Between tours we made a quick kebab stop and enjoyed the activity around San Lorenzo. After lunch and more touring we headed back up to the villa where most of us spent the afternoon chatting in the garden or reading. We each prepared a quick dinner and have spent the rest of the evening completing our piazza descriptions and experimenting with the cutting machine. Tomorrow is part of our group’s last full day in Genoa and we will be spending the day soaking up as much of this beautiful city as possible!
Ciao!
Brittany