Cornigliano

Cornigliano (in genois Corniggen , marked Curniggen ), sometimes called Cornigliano Ligure is a district of the west of Genoa located between the districts of Sampierdarena and Sestri Ponente.

Origin discussed of the name

According to the historian Agostino Giustiniani - who wrote annals of the city ( Castigatissimi Annali di Genova ) published in 1537 - the name of the locality could derive from the Gens Cornelia, the Roman family of the Cornelii , which would have had some grounds in this plane part between the torrent Polcevera and Sestri, in a locality ager cornelianum i.e. field of Cornelii .
According to other historians the origin of the name is even older and should be paid to an antique ligure tribe, that of the Veturii (or Viturii), which at the age of iron dominated the territory ranging between the Polcevera torrent and Arenzano. The name would come from Corito di Giano , in Ligurian Cor (Corito) - nor (di) - gien (Giano) .

A vacation resort become industrial

In the locality, Pétrarque sang a splendid vacation resort out of the walls of Genoa; according to Giustiniani there, one found at least thirty villas princely.

Cornigliano was the crossing point of the famous Grand Turn and accepted many visitors for this reason. At the 19th century the commune took the name of Cornigliano Ligure . On the reef of Saint Andre, the contractor and politician Edilio Raggio (the richest man of Italy at its time), made build a castle in Style liberty, which attracted after its death of noble and the rich person of everywhere.

In 1926 the Ligure commune of Cornigliano , until there autonomous, was integrated in the Grande Genoa.

After the Second world war the Raggio castle was shaved and Cornigliano became industrial suburbs intended to receive large establishments of iron and steel industry, under development of the initiatives of Raggio.

At the 20th century this place of holiday thus became a great complex of disproportionate buildings and factory constructions, symbol of power of production, but also of degradation of its decoration, with the progressive distance of the sea. The villas of formerly almost disappeared and the locality is choked chimneys and factories.

Economic difficulties and resumption in hand of the urbanization

Following economic difficulties for these heavy industries and with important dismissals, the district takes again a little pace since the end the 20th century.

In 2005, it was the closing of the blast furnace, preceded by that of the coal factories. The air now became more respirable. In the same year, an agreement with the company ILVA (Groupe Rivetted) released more than 300.000 m ² for the public use. A competition for A-grade officials gave the opportunity to the architects to propose projects to use them.

External bonds

Cornigliano seen of satellite at Google
Projects for the recovered space of the steel-works

Random links: