Recco (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Ricina'' / ''Recina'') is a ''

comune 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 City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the

Metropolitan City of Genoa The Metropolitan City of Genoa () is a metropolitan city in the region of Liguria in northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Genoa. It replaced the province of Genoa in 2015. It has 67 municipalities (''comuni) in'' an area of and a total p ...

, region of

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

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 ...

. Recco is home to the September 8

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

festival honoring the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. The town is also known for being home to the most successful

waterpolo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with more ...

team in Italy, and among the best in Europe,

Pro Recco A.S.D. Pro Recco (Official name: Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Pro Recco) is an Italian professional water polo club from Recco, in Liguria. It currently plays in Serie A1. Pro Recco is the most successful club in men's water polo. In m ...

History

Historically, Recco was populated by the Casmoriti, part of the Ligurian family. Later, it was conquered by the Romans who founded this ancient town, and gave the town the name of Recina or Ricina. At one point in time, it served as a Roman castrum (camp) on the

Via Aurelia The Via Aurelia () is a Roman road in Italy constructed in approximately 241 BC. The project was undertaken by Gaius Aurelius Cotta, who at that time was censor.Hornblower, Simon, & Antony Spawforth. ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary.'' 3rd ...

. In 1943, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Recco was heavily bombed by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

, destroying the railway and severely damaging the town and about 80% of the town's infrastructure. "The town of Recco in Genoa province, a target because of its viaduct, had lost 90 percent of its buildings and 127 inhabitants" It was rebuilt in the late forties and early 1950s.

Sport

The city is home to the water polo team

, winner of winner of 37 championships (the first in 1959, the last in 2025) in the Italian Serie A1, 18 Italian Cups, 11 LEN Champions League Cups and 9

LEN Super Cup The European Aquatics Super Cup is an annual water polo match organized by European Aquatics and contested by the reigning champions of the two most important European club competitions, the European Aquatics Champions League and the European A ...

s. It is also the only Italian team for five times to have won the grand slam (Championship, Italian Cup, Champions Cup, European Super Cup).

Cuisine

Recco is known for its '' focaccia con il formaggio'' (focaccia with cheese) which is made with

stracchino Stracchino (), also known as ''crescenza'' (), is an Italian cow's milk cheese typical of the regions of Lombardy, Tuscany, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and Liguria. It is eaten very young, has no rind and has a very soft, creamy texture an ...

. The consortium that dictates the official recipe of the focaccia, supposedly the result of a

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...

attack in the 13th century, has obtained the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

PGI status for the recipe.

Twin towns

Ponte di Legno Ponte di Legno (Camunian dialect, Camunian: ) is an Italian ''comune'' of 1,729 inhabitants in Val Camonica, province of Brescia, in Lombardy. Geography Situated at the confluence of the two source rivers (Frigidolfo and Narcanello) of the Ogli ...

References

Cities and towns in Liguria Coastal towns in Liguria {{Liguria-geo-stub