Where rivers meet the Medusa of the nymphaeum: a day in Busalla

A pretty island topped by a church and an imposing castle, embraced by the clear, fast waters of the Scrivia, Migliarese and Busalletta streams: until a few centuries ago, that is exactly how Busalla appeared to anyone looking at it from the Sarissola hamlet. Today the town has spread beyond those old natural boundaries, but the village still keeps its strategic position, which in the past was also the cause of battles that led to the destruction of the ancient manor. First mentioned in documents in 1192, Busalla has always been an important hub for the roads branching out from Genoa into the Oltregiogo and reaching the Po Valley. In the Middle Ages the village, with its distinctive long, narrow shape, stretched from the Scrivia basin up to the Castello della Pietra. We start our walk through Busalla from an oasis of art and nature facing the station square: Villa Borzino.

Built in 1919 for Emilio Borzino, a respected Genoese member of parliament, the villa has been council property since 1972. Surrounded by a wonderful park crossed by hedges and tree-lined paths, the villa houses the Comunità Montana Alta Valle Scrivia and the Antola Park authority, as well as several cultural associations. In the park stands a beautiful nymphaeum, a faithful copy of the 16th-century one at Villa Sauli in Genoa. The nymphaeum, made with precious materials such as coral, Turritella shells, quartz rocks and polychrome ceramic tiles, features figures of fauns and is decorated with the depiction of two of the twelve labours of Hercules. The mighty fountain, with the effigy of Medusa, dominates the splendid hall. Continuing our tour of the centre, we visit the single-arch bridge over the Busalletta stream.

Right nearby begins the Chiusa nature trail, two kilometres long, as far as the artificial lake of the Busalletta. We visit the 17th-century Parish Church of San Giorgio and the Oratory of San Bernardo. Along the main road there is also the pretty Chapel of San Rocco. Reaching Via Roma, we discover we are in the Ghiacciaia district, so called because before the invention of the refrigerator there were numerous pools here for producing ice. From the centre we drive to the Bastia hamlet to visit the Sanctuary of Nostra Signora della Bastia, built after the miraculous discovery of a small statue of the Madonna in a crack in the rock. The original country chapel, built in 1660, was later enlarged and moved to its current position in 1722. In the spectacular adjoining grotto there is a precious marble statue of the Virgin, by the Genoese sculptor Gio Batta Airaldi.

After this lovely walk we devote the rest of the evening to the pleasures of good food, returning to the centre; we only need to drive a short stretch in the direction of Sarissola after crossing the Scrivia to reach the Ristorante Pizzeria Da Penna, on Via Milite Ignoto. We settle into the spacious dining room, furnished with taste and originality, and as we begin to enjoy the exquisite starters we chat with the owner, Gianni. "My father took over this place in 1972. Before going into catering he was a carpenter, and this business was a real challenge. In the early years it was a restaurant with a club-like feel, then in 1987 the pizzeria was born too, and we carried on as both restaurant and pizzeria, enjoying a real peak period up to the 2000s." We begin with grilled peppers, marinated anchovies, a seafood salad and swordfish carpaccio.

Our friends, more partial to dishes of the land, choose, besides the unmissable peppers, meat carpaccio and porcini mushroom carpaccio. We follow this rich starter with fresh homemade gnocchi in a four-cheese sauce, trofiette with pesto, the typical ravioli al tucco and fettuccine with fried tomato — a real delight. Some of us opt for the lean pansotti with walnut sauce, while others give in to the embarrassment of choice among eighteen types of risotto and various kinds of lasagne. Among the main courses we certainly don't skip a good tagliata, grilled meats, roasts, as well as traditional specialities such as rabbit Ligurian-style, mixed fried fish, rocket and beef strips, and Genoese meatloaf. We wash these good things down with wines from Piedmont, Liguria and other Italian regions, chosen from a wide range of labels.

Our evening ends by giving in to sweet temptations: tiramisu, crème catalane and homemade panna cotta, plus a "palette" of around twenty other desserts, all delicious. What more could you want? Simple: to come back here soon!

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Ristorante Pizzeria Da Penna Via Milite Ignoto, 25 Busalla (GE)