A constant necessity of the city was to protect itself from invasions. For this they constructed the City Walls. In Genoa, the Sea access was something that was wanted by many powers. The antique nucleus of the city was on the hills of Sarzano; the city then extended itself in the course of the centuries, along with its walls, towards the west, around the beach of that natural gulf which today corresponds to the Port. At the same time, the expansion of the city began towards the mountains; consequently enlarging the Walls, even the inhabited centre extended. But in the rapid expansion, the civil buildings rapidly reached the old City Walls, cancelling the structures. The experts aren´t in agreement as to how many Lines there were; they hypothesize five or seven. Of the oldest walls almost all traces have been lost; there are a few traces of the line built in 1155, and 1536 (see the Porta Siberia zone). A great part of the Nuova Mura (New Walls) built in the 1600´s are conserved. We will focus our attention on these.

In the XVII century, when they were built, for the first time the City Walls were not constructed directly around the inhabited area, but at a bit of a distance; this was to keep the enemy away from the centre of the Piazza. Their construction was necessary in 1625, when the Duke of Savoia, with the help of the French, invaded the Genoese Dominion, threatening even the urbanised centre. The Line of 1536 was already obsolete - it followed the direct perimetre of the Piazza - and because of this it was decided to use the natural amphitheatre at the top of Mount Peralto. The first stone of the Nuova Mura was placed , near the Lanterna, on December 7, 1626, by the Dogi Giacomo Lomellini, with a solemn ceremony for which a new medal was coined. The work, which was interuppted right away, was picked up again in the autumn of 1629 with measurements taken on the terrain.

The work was taken-up with numerous arguments as to how the Walls should be built. According to the norms, the opera was supposed to follow the natural form of the terrain to obtain, wherever possible, the new line by simply cutting into the rock. The Public Administration gave the Company limestone, wood, cord and some tools: pickaxes, clubs, wedges, levers, and hoes. Gunpowder could not be used. The results of this type of work can still be seen today: in some points, where the natural rock was used in the Walls, signs of chiseling can stilll be seen. Because of the importance and urgency of the work, all other building plans were put on hold; and the workers worked even on holidays (except for Christmas and Easter), "after having heard the Sacred Mass first".

Although the Line used the natural contours of the land , it was different for the location of where Brignole is now. This was, in fact, a weak point, because it was situated on flat land: and because of this that part of the Line assumed the name of Fronti Basse (Low Front). An enemy troop could have camped in the nearby plain, or they could have attacked from the hills of Albaro. The proposed solution was that of adding two more bastions to those already existent. A moat was also added. Along the Line, at the flanks of the numerous bastions, the sortie were dug, connected to the inside with a ramp of stairs. Some were, afterewards walled in, and otheres used in the 1800´s, to insert the so-called "Torette angolari" (Angular Towers). There weren´t however, any of the non-existent underground passages (as the Legends say) that secretely connected the Line.

The New Walls, according to the plans, assumed different denominations. After the Fronti Basse, which were between the current Liceo Classico Doria and the Brignole train station, the was the Montesano Wall (which today is the beginning of Via Imperia), the Zerbino (the zone of Fieschine to Corso Montegrappa), San Bartolomeo (area of the Genova-Casella train station), San Bernardino (from the door of the same name), Sant Erasmo (zone of the Villa Quartara), Chiappe or San Simone (beginning of the cable-railway of Zecca-Righi), Castellaccio (up to the bastion of the "Casetta Rossa" of the Community), Sperone (up to the Cancello dell'avvocato - The Lawyer´s Gate), Begato (up to the repeter stations of Granarolo), Granarolo (near the end of Via ai Piani di Fregoso), Monte Moro (up to the Tenaglia), Angeli (up to Via San Bartolomeo del Fossato, this also included the Walls of Porta Murata), and San Benigno (now demolished, they arrived to the Lanterna). The antique stairs of the Line are also conserved.

All of the bastions had a name, but in order to distinguish them more accurately in case of changes, they were also numbered. And so, half-way through the 1800´s, it was decided to place marble plaques on their walls with their date of constrction. There were 100: today only five remain (see the tag inside Fort Castellaccio). Today the Line has degraded in many points.

Webpage of Genua's Walls 

 Other Images:

 The Montesano Wall: underneath the construction of Corso Montegrappa, 1925

 The Zerbino Wall, begining of 1900: now Piazza dello Zerbino

 The San Bartolomeo Wall, 1911

 The San Bartolomeo Wall completely encircled by new housing.

 The Chiappe Wall, 1909

 The Chiappe Wall, 1952

 The Chiappe Wall towards Castelaccio, 1968

 Castellaccio Wall: Prospective towards the Sperone

 Sperone Wall

 Angular Tower along the Begato Wall

 The Inside of an Angular Tower

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