The term Great Genoa () refers to the present area of the municipality of

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, in the north west of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Great Genoa extends for over 30 km along the coast of

Ligurian Sea The Ligurian Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies between the Italian Riviera ( Liguria) and the island of Corsica. The sea is thought to have been named after the ancient Ligures people. Geography The sea borders Italy as far as ...

from

Nervi Nervi is a former fishing village 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Portofino on the Riviera di Levante, now a seaside resort in Liguria, in northwest Italy. Once an independent ''comune'', it is now a ''quartiere'' of Genoa. Nervi is 4 miles ( ...

Voltri Voltri is a quartiere of the Italian city of Genoa, located west of the city centre. It was formerly an independent comune. In 2015, Voltri and the nearby hamlets included in Genoa's VII Municipio (Crevari, Acquasanta, Vesima, Fabbriche) had a ...

, and up the Polcevera valley of the Polcevera river and the Bisagno

river valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over a ...

of the Bisagno river. Great Genoa dates from 1926, when 19 municipalities were added to the six municipalities incorporated in 1874. This aggregation makes Genoa a polycentric city, as the Genoese urban area is made up of several towns each with a strong sense of belonging, a consolidated economic and social structure and an old town, so they are not perceived as "

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

s". Reflecting the strong local identity the inhabitants of many neighborhoods, former municipality, still say "I am going to Genoa" and not "I am going downtown" to state their intention to go to the city center.

Historical development

The aggregation of neighboring municipalities was in 1926, but the process started many years earlier. Until 1874 the municipality of the city of

was the same as the urban area surrounded by the 17th century

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with to ...

, divided into six districts, called "''

sestieri A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the title of (). Formed ac ...

''": * Maddalena * Molo *

Portoria Portoria (''Portöia'' in Ligurian language, Ligurian) is a central district of Genoa, administratively included in Municipio I Centro Est. It was one of the ''sestieri'' into which the city of Genoa was anciently divided. Its name is linked to ...

* Prè * San Teodoro * San Vincenzo With increasing population in the 19th century, the city expanded into the hills behind the old town, but still within the city walls: during that time were built the stately neighborhood of Castelletto, and those of and for working-class people.Antida Gazzola, in "Dalla città diffusa alla città diramata" ("From the sprawling city to the branched city"), by Angelo Detragiache,

FrancoAngeli FrancoAngeli is one of the largest Italian publishing houses specialized in books and journals for university and post-university studies, as well as for professionals. Based in Milan and founded in 1955, it has one of the largest Italian catalog ...

, 2003

The annexation of 1874

After this first urban expansion it was necessary to find space for new facilities and residential neighborhoods for the middle classes. In 1873 the mayor of Genoa proposed a plan of territorial aggrandizement in the lower Val Bisagno, which was subsequently approved by a decree of King

Vittorio Emanuele II Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di House of Savoy, Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 u ...

which annexed six municipalities to Genoa on 1 January 1874:City of Genoa, Office of Statistics, "Demographic Atlas of the city", Genoa, July 2008 * *

Marassi The Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris, also known as the Marassi from the name of the neighbourhood where it is located, is a multi-use stadium in Genoa, Italy. The home of Genoa C.F.C. and U.C. Sampdoria football clubs, it opened in 1911 and is t ...

* San Francesco d’Albaro * * *

The annexation of 1926

Great Genoa was completed in 1926 when 19 municipalities were annexed to Genoa. Among them, beside some small municipalities, were towns with a strong social identity such as

Sampierdarena Sampierdarena (also San Pier d'Arena; Ligurian: San Pè d'ænn-a) is a major port and industrial area of Genoa, in northwest Italy. With San Teodoro it forms the West Central (Centro Ovest) ''municipio''. Geography Sampierdarena lies on ...

and

Sestri Ponente Sestri Ponente is an industrial suburb of Genoa in northwest Italy. It is part of the Medio Ponente ''municipio'' of Genoa. Geography It is situated on the Ligurian Sea four miles to the west of the city, between Pegli and Cornigliano. Its po ...

."Storia dell'architettura italiana. Il primo Novecento" ("History of Italian architecture. The early 20th century", Electa, 2005, cited i

/ref> With this expansion the population of Genoa grew from 335,000 to 580,000 inhabitants.

Annexed municipalities

In the East: * *

* Quarto dei Mille * Quinto al Mare * In the Bisagno valley: * * * In the Polcevera valley: *

Bolzaneto Bolzaneto is a quarter of the city of Genoa, in northwest Italy, and is part of the Municipality Valpolcevera of Genoa. Geography Bolzaneto was once a hamlet located outside of the city limits in the Polcevera valley, but in the recent centuries ...

* Borzoli * Pontedecimo *

Rivarolo Ligure Rivarolo Ligure is a quarter in the north side of the city of Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's admi ...

* In the West: * Cornigliano Ligure *

Pegli Pegli () is a neighbourhood in the west of Genoa, Italy. With other eighteen autonomous municipalities, in 1926 it ceased being independent and was merged into the municipality of Great Genoa, Genoa. With a mild climate and a promenade, Pegli is ...

* Pra' *

File:Nervi - Genoa 1716 (8252359458).jpg, Nervi File:Genova Molassana panorama.jpg, Molassana File:Genova Bolzaneto 01.jpg, Bolzaneto File:Panorama Gazzo3.JPG, Sestri Ponente

References

External links

Official Site of Municipality of Genoa
{{Authority control . Genoa History of Genoa Ligurian Sea Metropolitan City of Genoa