According to some annalists, there was a primitive fortification built in 1319 on the current site of Fort Begato. We must also note that this information could also refer to the Bastia of Peralto. With the construction of the Nuova Mura the area, named Piano delle Fosse (GeF) (and not "Piana" as it is wrongly called), was on the inside of the enclosure. In this area, at the end of 1700 a transversal battery was constructed.

In 1818, Major Andreis proposed a project for the construction of the barracks. This, once constructed, showed a particularity in that on its western side, it was one floor higher than on the side facing the Polcevera. This difference is probably due to an architectural and functional solution thought up by the designer: in this way, the reception and services increase. Work began in 1818 and finished around 1830 (in 1823, the barracks were "one-third complete"). At the end of this, with a change in the original project, a layered roof with slate shingles was added. Between 1832 and 1836 the complex was closed on the side facing the city with a bastionated line.

On March 28, 1849, during the revolts against Piedmont, Fort Begato was occupied by numerous men of the Guardia Nazionale (National Guard), in order to defend the Polcevera Valley, the enemy's access road. The enemy was the Piemontese soldiers from the Regio Esercito (Royal Army) and the bersaglieres. With the surrender of April 10^th the fortification was given to the royal authorities. During the war of 1915-18, Austrian soldiers were imprisoned inside, which were used to reforest the Peralto and to do other work in the area. In 1922 it was thought to level the fort and the walls surrounding it, in order to build a runway for small airplanes. Thankfully this project was rejected, in fact the area is difficult to reach and is often windy, so there would have been some serious landing problems.

Around 1940, inside the enclosure, postations for anti-aircraft artillary were constructed. In 1937 the dismantelling of the layered roof was already in process. The demolition of one of the four bastions of the barracks has, up until now, been attributed to the Germans in retreat in 1945 (the fort had been in their hands since 1943). We must, however, remember that the commander of the German troops posted in Genoa, General Meinhold, had signed for the complete surrender of his troops, and that the order was passed on to all the German leaders, who in the end darkened upon receiviong the dispositions. The armaments in their possession were thrown into the Fort's cistern (the soldiers refused to consign their armaments to the partisans), afterwhich they abandoned the fort (we must also rememebr that the Germans were in a hurry to leave the city, for fear of remaining prisoners). In those dramatic moments, the destruction of manufactured goods was the only thing they didn't think of. The collapse of the bastion happened between 1941 and October, 1942 because of the English bombardments. At the end of the conflict, for about 10 years the fort wasn't used. From the mid-fifties until the end of the seventies it was once again in the hands of the military, which used it as a deposit.

In 1990, Fort Begato was seen as the best place to host demonstrations and open-air activities which were in need of flat areas. Some areas around it were restored in order to host restaurants and bars inside as well as out, and to house the custodians. Consequently the restoration of the barracks was begun, and thanks to this the fortification was consigned to the city.

 Other Images

 The fort in a photo from 1916

 Fort Begato: the signatures of the old sentinels

 A particular of the collapsed bastion

 The inside of the barracks before the restoration

 Other images from before the restoration

 The stove, perfectly conserved, in the basement of Fort Begato

 View of the barracks before the restoration

 Access of Fort Begato at the end of the fifties (publifoto)

 Aereal - photographs before the restoration (publifoto)

 The demolished bastion today, after the restoration

 The courtyard of the barracks today

 Particular of the restored barracks

 Southern corridor after the restoration

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