Fabrizio De André’s  “Esteve 97” is one of the legendary guitars that belonged to the Genoese singer-songwriter and which accompanied him on his last tour in 1997/98.
Made in the small artisanal factory of Alboraya (Valencia) which was once the workshop of Francisco Esteve and Manuel Antonio Monfort Adalid, the instrument returned to Genoa, in Via del Campo, following an auction held on January 6, 2001. The auction raised 168.5 million lire for the charity “Emergency” money that was used to build a ward of the Goderich Hospital in Sierra Leone which now bears the name of the street  to which Faber refers in one of his most famous songs.

The climb to the top of one of the two towers that flank the arch of Porta Soprana is unquestionably challenging, but well worth it!

To the east you can see the modern city: Piazza Dante, whose construction involved the demolition of the church and monastry of Sant’Andrea, and the Torre di Marcello Piacentini, which, inaugurated in 1940, was one of the first skyscrapers in Europe.

Towards the west the medieval city presents itself in all its splendour, with its sloping roofs and bell towers that project the gaze towards the sea, the port and the lighthouse - the “Lanterna” symbol of the City.

Just in front of the south tower (on the left as you enter the gate), you can see a tall brick building. This is the Turris matonorum of the Fieschi, property of one of the most powerful families in the city who had it built for its own garrison, emphasizing the importance of this access to the city. From there the Fieschi’s could control who entered - Guelph allies or the Ghibelline adversaries - but above all they could take advantage first of all to conclude good deals with the merchants coming from the East, who came down to the Apennine passes coming from the Po area of Piacenza and Reggio. 

The two slender towers of Porta Soprana have guarded the eastern part of the city for over eight centuries. In reality, such tall towers did not have a significant defensive value, but, with their grandeur, they served more as a warning to eventual enemies, as in the case of the memorial tablets of 1155 built into the wall near the arch of the gateway that invites the visitor to come in peace rather than war.

The history of the Porta Soprana, with its towers, are closely connected to the urban development of the area.
In 1892 an important restoration project was undertaken supervised by Alfredo d'Andrade, an architect of Portuguese origin who had long been active in Genoa and committed to protecting the city's monuments. The work was continued by his successors until 1935, it freed the original structure from  the heavy overlapping construction which had become stratified over the centuries and which had hidden its elegant and “pure” medieval appearance.

The first medieval walls of Genoa date to the 9th century, in the Carolingian period. Under the threat of an attack by Frederick Barbarossa, between 1155 and 1158, it was decided to quickly erect new walls. The two impressive surviving gates belong to this effort: Porta dei Vacca, to the west, and Porta Soprana, to the east. The new walls protected a much larger area, about 55 hectares, compared to the 20 of the Carolingian walled city. But in reality these mighty walls, with doors, towers and hatches, were of limited use. Genoa was defended by its ships which dominated the seas. The walls were therefore in large part a symbol for the powerful and proud city with which Frederick Barbarossa would have to come to terms.

Inside the Columbus House you discover many interesting details which provide an idea of life in a medieval house. To the right of the entrance, the room currently used as a ticket office was originally the typical space used as a shop; small, in the case of the Colombus family, where Cristopher's father sold fabrics and, later, cheese. In the back room, recessed in the left corner, you can see a roughly worked stone: it is clearly a hearth. Quite different from the huge "chimneys" that were the liveliest space of the aristocratic houses. It is possible that the family’s cooking took place on this modest stove and that the meal, instead, was consumed in the slightly larger rooms on the floor above. Finally, again on the ground floor, it is worth noting a kind of 'impluvium' for collecting water and, immediately alongside it, a rough latrine, an eloquent indication of the standards of hygiene of the time.

This small house was identified in the nineteenth century as the home of the Colombo family in the period from 1455 and 1470, when Cristoforo was growing up from the age of 4 till he was 9. It was certainly not a luxurious home: on the ground floor there are small spaces dedicated to a shop and kitchen, with a basin to collect water and a rudimentary latrine; upstairs, two small rooms, perhaps for eating and for the night.

The building was damaged during the bombing to which the “Sun King” subjected the city in 1684. It was the only one to be rebuilt, due to the importance of those who had lived there and subsequently surviving the widespread demolition that affected the area in the 1930s.

It is a small memorial to the great navigator, inside which displays and objects tell his story and, above all, recount his daily life.

The cloister of Sant’Andrea, after being dismantled in 1905, was relocated (in 1922) in the area adjacent to the Christopher Columbus' House, where it is possible to admire it today, albeit in a radically different context from the original. Its figured capitals are very suggestive and date to the mid-twelfth century, they were reused during the restructuring of 1294, together with others of a purely Gothic style.

Entering the cloister, you can see the angels on the corner capitals which, with their right hands raised, bless the entry. Those with the patience to search will find a capital, on one of the smaller columns on the right hand side, which bears a clear reference to the Genoese economic life of the Middle Ages: a caravan of mules with their packs.

Between 1900 and 1906 the monastry and parish church of Sant'Andrea della Porta, the oldest parts of which dated to the beginning of the year 1000, was completely demolished, together with the hill on which it stood, to allow the urban restructuring of the area and the construction of the building of the Bank of Italy.

The only part of the structure that was saved was the medieval cloister which was dismantled and relocated (about twenty years later) to its current location.

The cloister probably dates to the construction of the building itself or only a short time later, as evidenced by the original Romanesque style figured capitals, dating to the mid twelth century. However, it is likely that there was a substantial redevelopment towards the end of the thirteenth century: documents from 1294 refer to major works in which the older figured capitals were probably retained but others (in the Gothic style) were added, these are decorated with simple leaves.

In such an important city cross roads, and one with such symbolic importance, an image of the Madonna could hardly be left wanting, a figure to whom the Genoese were always particularly devoted - to the point of electing her as Queen in 1637.

Many "aedicule" in the alleys of the city host Marian images to which inhabitants and passers-by used to address prayers, invocations or simply brief thoughts. In the case of the one located at the Porta Soprana it depicts the Apparition of the Madonna della Guardia to Blessed Benedetto Pareto, an image which commemorates the event of 1490, when the Virgin appeared to a peasant in the hills north of Genoa. The author of the work is the Piedmontese Giovanni Grifo (Alba, 1869 - Genoa 1935) who uses the oil on slate technique.

The aedicule that houses it is earlier, dating to the 17th-18th centuries. To preserve the painting from the elements, it was replaced by a copy in 2015: the original is located in the entrance to the towers of Porta Soprana.

Two original engraved tablets dating from 1155, the year to which the construction of the monumental gate can therefore be dated, are built into the wall on the inside of the entrance gate.

One of them shows the names of the consuls under whose supervision the construction took place and, additionally, listing the Genoese victories in the West (Africa, Asia and Spain), making particular reference to Spain and the victories against the Moors in the cities of Tortosa and Almeria (1147 and 1148).

The second plaque, which is subsequent to this engraved cry of triumph, warns that: "If you bring peace you are allowed to touch these doors, if you seek war, you will return sad and defeated".