A Bowl Of Spaghetti Piled High

That's the visual image as described in The Lonely Planet: Italy; the city has virtually no flat land, much like Seattle or San Francisco. Established before the time of Christ, Genoa was an important Roman port that has been inhabited by virtually every possible invader, including Charlemagne, Napolean and -- more recently -- the Nazis.

To its credit, the Genoa was the first northern city to rise against the Nazi occupation and shake off the yolk of Mussolini and Hitler, liberating itelf before the arrival of Allied troops. I remember my Gramma (http://gonzopublicrelations.blogspot.com/2010/06/mia-nonna.html) explaining the end of "Il Duce," Benito Mussolini, the fascist dictator who ruled Italy for a generation. They shot him, and his lover, and strung them up upside down in a piazza in Milano.

Clinging to hillsides the most striking aspect of the city is the architecture. The large commercial structures are works of art and even the residential buildings -- painted bright red, orange and yellow with green shutters -- are charmingly beautiful.

The heart of medieval Genoa, which features dark, almost cavelike laneways and oddly angled blind alleys, is primarily residential, with commercial concerns occupying the ground floor of most buildings.

The city streets are rife with shops and bars, and the medieval old town features a maze of "carrugi," or dark pedestrian alleys (left) that can feel a bit confining and claustrophobic -- a complete contrast to the wide open "piazzas" or town squares.

The building on the right of the narrow alley here is my hotel; my room was on the third floor facing the alley. The walkway is less than five feet across.

The Piazza De Ferrari (below) is the centerpiece of Genoa's main square, which is encircle by magnificent buildings, Among the buildings are the Art Nouveau Palazzo della Borsa (behind the fountain on the left), which once housed the country's stock exchange.

My hosts at the Hotel Colombo -- who had a basic understanding of English -- asked me why my family had left Italy. I explained that (as my Grandmother related to me in a 1975 interview) the year was 1912, and war was in the air.

World War I (known at that time as "The Great War") turned out to be bloody and exhausting for the Italians, who lost 600,000 men in the conflict. The war economy produced a small concentration of powerful industrial barons while the civilian populace lived in poverty. The atmosphere was ripe for a demagogue (see "Il Duce," above).

Back then, my Grandmother emphasized that many young Italian men were looking to do the "23-skidoo" to America -- and many did, including my grandfather and my great-uncle.

The American slang phrase "23-skidoo" was popularized during the early 20th century, first appearing before "The Great War."

The phrase refers to leaving quickly, being forced to leave quickly by someone else, or taking advantage of a rare and/or timely opportunity to leave: in other words, "getting out while the getting is good."

The exact origin of the phrase is uncertain.

While my grandfather arrived in the U.S. in 1904, my grandmother emigrated in 1912 (at age 19), along with her mother, Mary, brother Paul (16) and sister Eva (14). Talk about the adventure of a lifetime! None ever returned to Italy, even to visit.

Needless to say, emigrating to America turned out to be one of the best moves of their lives. The shot below was probably the same view they had leaving Genoa Harbor nearly 100 years ago.