Deep-dive

Identity: nine Municipi, the Genoese language, Saint John the Baptist

Municipality and capital of the Metropolitan City of Genoa, organised in nine Municipi from Ponente to Levante. Languages: Italian and Genoese (zeneise), still spoken and sung. Patron Saint John the Baptist on 24 June; the Palazzi dei Rolli are a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Sections: Geography · History · Population · Languages · Time zone · Public holidays

Administrative structure

The Comune di Genova is divided into nine Municipi, with elected councils and local service offices: I Centro Est (old town, Castelletto, Portoria), II Centro Ovest (Sampierdarena, San Teodoro), III Bassa Val Bisagno (Marassi, San Fruttuoso, Staglieno), IV Media Val Bisagno (Molassana, Struppa), V Valpolcevera (Rivarolo, Bolzaneto, Pontedecimo), VI Medio Ponente (Cornigliano, Sestri Ponente), VII Ponente (Pegli, Prà, Voltri), VIII Medio Levante (Albaro, Foce, San Martino) and IX Levante (Sturla, Quarto, Quinto, Nervi). Genoa is the capital of the Liguria Region and of the Metropolitan City, which replaced the Province in 2015.

Languages and communities

Genoese (zeneise) is a Ligurian language distinct from Italian, with its own literary and musical tradition: it can still be heard among older people, in markets, in the street names of the old town and in the songwriters' repertoire. Italian is everyone's language; English is widespread in the port, the university and the technology hub. The largest foreign communities are Ecuadorian, Albanian, Romanian, Moroccan and Bangladeshi, concentrated in the old town and Sampierdarena.

Patron saint and institutions

The patron saint is John the Baptist, celebrated on 24 June with the procession of the confraternities and fireworks; it is a city holiday. Key institutions: Palazzo Ducale (cultural foundation and exhibition venue), Teatro Carlo Felice, the Genoa Aquarium, the Strada Nuova Museums, the University (1481), the Italian Institute of Technology, the Port Authority. The Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli, the aristocratic palaces that hosted the Republic's state visits, have been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2006.

Population

City figurePeriod: Jan 1, 2025Validsample unknown

Source: ISTAT – Popolazione residente: bilancio demografico (dataflow 22_315, DCIS_POPORESBIL1)

564,080people

Foreign residents, share of population

City figurePeriod: Jan 1, 2025Estimatesample unknown

Source: ISTAT – Stranieri residenti al 1° gennaio (dataflow 29_7, DCIS_POPSTRRES1)

12 %