Around with Magellan, dining at Bacchus: a day in Savona

A trip to Savona can only begin, at least ideally, on the route of the great navigators. Had we lived a few hundred years ago, for our journey we might have used the nautical charts that Leon Pancaldo, the famous Savona navigator, drew during the first circumnavigation of the world, carried out by Ferdinand Magellan from 1519. Today, even if you arrive in Savona by car, you immediately come across the celebrated sailor who accompanied Magellan on the difficult enterprise, and whose logbook, called the "Roteiro", remains a most precious historical document. Indeed, one of the symbol monuments of the city is dedicated to him: it is the Torre Leon Pancaldo, formerly called Torre della Quarda, which has stood sentinel over the port for at least over six hundred years.

The imposing Fortress of Priamar, situated on the natural hill of the same name in front of the sea, was built in 1542 by the Republic of Genoa. To build the fort, the Genoese "evicted" several religious buildings that existed at the time on the Priamar promontory, even the oldest confraternity of Savona, dating from 1260, which consequently moved to the Oratory of Nostra Signora di Castello in Piazza Sisto IV, near the Town Hall. During our walk we discover among other things that soap takes its name precisely from the place name Savona. According to legend, it was the wife of a Savona fisherman who fortuitously discovered soap, boiling olive oil and soda lye together.

But Savona also excels in the higher spheres of culture: here in fact is another Sistine Chapel, commissioned by the Savona Pope Sixtus IV, the same one after whom the Sistine Chapel in Rome is named, frescoed by Michelangelo during the papacy of his nephew Julius II, born Giuliano della Rovere. Among the many important religious buildings of the city, we visited the Cathedral of the Assumption and the Sanctuary of Nostra Signora della Misericordia, patroness of Savona, erected in 1536 following an apparition of the Madonna. The Sanctuary preserves a splendid altar by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and precious canvases by Domenichino. After this fine tour through Savona's history, for dinner we return to the beating heart of the city, that is to the Port, in Via Quarda Superiore, a stone's throw from the celebrated Tower.

Here, right in front of the sea, is the very original Osteria Bacco, a place full of life where the atmosphere is that authentic one of the port trattorias of the past. This is thanks to the owner, Francesco Doberti, known to everyone as Bacco, a nickname he had been given since he had always liked to eat and drink in good cheer. "I grew up in the port environment, to which many experiences bind me, both of life and of work, and that is why I had the idea of creating a place that would continue the tradition of the port trattorias of the past. I opened this Osteria in 1984," Bacco tells us with irresistible friendliness and exuberance as we take our seats at our table. The place is a real spectacle: everywhere the eye meets a piece of maritime culture.

There are models of sailing ships and boats hanging from the ceiling, fishing nets, flags, ropes, as well as a myriad of very colourful paintings and drawings. Today Bacco is helped daily by his son Pierfrancesco, who proudly follows in his father's footsteps. Completing the staff are Stefano, Margherita and Fabio as well as the very friendly Elisa, Concetta and Sved, who welcome us warmly in the dining room. It is with great pleasure that we begin to enjoy the typical, simple and popular dishes of the Ligurian tradition offered by Bacco. We start with a very rich starter in which anchovies, prepared in different ways, are the leading ladies. We also take an octopus salad with potatoes and marinated mussels. We follow these delicacies with trenette al pesto with potatoes, spaghetti with fresh anchovies and spaghetti alla marinara. Some of us instead enjoy an excellent minestrone.

Among the second courses we do not give up the typical stockfish and salt cod, which is prepared every day in a different way, as are the anchovy-based second courses. Some of us opt for a very good mixed fried fish, while the others take the burrida of fresh fish, with prawns, scampi, cuttlefish and squid. We also enjoy another very good traditional dish, cuttlefish with artichokes. On cold days, they explain to us, the Osteria also offers dishes such as stewed tripe, broth, sanguinaccio and mixed boiled meats. We wash it all down with excellent white wines selected by Bacco, and conclude our dinner on a very sweet note, with the fresh desserts, freshly prepared by the staff. We will not fail to return here also during the warm season, to enjoy other dinners as old sea dogs seated outdoors, with the port, full of history and legends, in the background.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Osteria Bacco Via Quarda Superiore, 17-19 R (Port area) 019/8335350