Boccadasse
At the eastern edge of Genoa's Corso Italia, the promenade simply ends and Boccadasse begins — a compact fishing cove of pastel houses stacked around a pebble beach barely a hundred metres wide. The cassari, raised stone platforms where fishermen once stored their boats, still line the shore, and the 17th-century church of Sant'Antonio da Padova sits on the promontory above, its white facade turned toward the sea.
The square, Piazza Nettuno, is enclosed on three sides by ochre and terracotta buildings and opens directly onto the beach. Clubs and restaurants fill the ground floors; above them, laundry and window boxes. The whole village occupies perhaps ten minutes on foot, end to end.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who keep coming back tend to arrive in the late afternoon, when the light hits the water at an angle and the gelaterias on Via Aurora get their queues. The ice cream here is a serious local point of pride — take it down to the pebbles and sit on the cassari while the day cools.
The story behind Boccadasse
Settlement here goes back at least to the 13th century — the nearby Abbey of San Giuliano is the oldest evidence — but Boccadasse remained a working fishing village on Genoa's periphery for centuries, which is precisely what preserved its original urban fabric when the city expanded around it.
On 26 October 1873, a royal decree formally incorporated Boccadasse into the municipality of Genoa. By the late 19th century it had become a retreat for aristocratic families, and the architect Gino Coppedè left two marks on the cape: the medievalising Türcke Castle (1903) on Cape Santa Chiara, and the ornate Villa Canali-Gaslini in the Art Déco manner. The songwriter Gino Paoli lived on Salita Santa Chiara and wrote the song 'La Gatta' here; the Genoese poet Edoardo Firpo dedicated a poem in dialect to the village, its verses now on a plaque at Sant'Antonio Church.
Good to know
Bus 31 from Piazza De Ferrari runs every 15 minutes and drops you at the cove (fare €2, contactless). The historic centre is a ZTL zone, so don't drive in. September gives you warm water without August's crowds. Allow two to three hours; shops close between 1 and 4 PM.
April through October is the workable window, with July and August warmest and most crowded. September is the sweet spot — the sea holds its summer temperature, the light is softer, and the piazza breathes again.
Where is Boccadasse?
Location
- In Genoa
- 44.3967, 8.9744
- Open in Google Maps
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