Sturla

Sturla (Stûrlâ in Ligurian) is a quartiere of Genoa. It began life as an ancient fishing village which developed around a number of small coves - Sturla a Mare, at the mouth of the Sturla river, Vernazzola and Boccadasse (Boccadasse is now included in the neighbouring quartiere of Albaro). Sturla is located in Golfo di Sturla (Sturla Bay).

Sturla is part of the Medio Levante municipality, and has a population of 8278 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2010). In the 1800s the current quartiere was a commune of San Martino d'Albaro, while the village of Vernazzola was a commune of San Francesco d'Albaro. However, both communes were annexed by Genoa in 1874.

The area of Sturla is marked out by Corso Europa, Via Orsini, the right bank of the Sturla river (from which it takes its name) and the sea. During the 20th century the neighborhood went through a period of extensive construction, but the centers of the original ancient villages are still recognizable. The neighbouring quarters are Albaro to the west, Borgoratti and San Martino to the north and Quarto dei Mille to the east.

The neighbourhood is home to the Villa Gentile athletics arena, as well as several public and private bathing facilities. A water purification plant has been built between Sturla beach and Vernazzola beach.

There are several schools in the district. There's a nursery school (Nini Corsanego) as well as a kindergarten (Bartolomeo Chighizola), both on the road leading from Piazza Sturla to Vernazzola beach. There's also a primary school dedicated to Ettore Vernazza, a middle school (Bernardo Strozzi) and the Martin Luther King high school that focuses on the sciences and was built in the 1960s.

The Genoese poet, Vico Faggi dedicated the following verse to Sturla:

Una luce, un riflesso. Quel barbaglio
ti fulmina, dal vetro, e tutto il borgo
si ridesta, s’arruffa. [...]

In the area of Sturla, starting from the early Middle Ages, several maritime settlements arose due to the presence of useful landing places.

To the East of Vernazzola, separated by the small hill between the Vernazza river and the Sturla river, is the historic core of Sturla, a tiny fishing village, as evidenced by some of the place names, which winds around Via del Tritone, Via Tabarca, Via Zoagli, Vico del Pesce and Via del Bragone.

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Wikipedia