The Port of Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

is an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 seaport on the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

.

With a trade volume of 58.6 million tonnes it is the first port of Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, the second in terms of twenty-foot equivalent units after the port of transshipment

Transshipment

Transshipment or Transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination....

 of Gioia Tauro

Gioia Tauro

Gioia Tauro is a comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, in Calabria , on the Tyrrhenian coast. It has an important port, situated along the route connecting Suez to Gibraltar, one of the busiest maritime corridors in the world....

, with a trade volume of 1.86 million TEUs.

Structural characteristics

The Port of Genoa covers an area of about 500 hectares of land and the same area on water, and it extends for 20 kilometres along the coastline, with 47 km of maritime ways and 30 km of operative quays.
There are 4 main entrances:

• the Eastern inlet, affording access to the old port, to the shipyards, and to the terminals of Sampierdarena
• the Western (Cornigliano) inlet, used mostly by ships operating at the ILVA quays
• the Multedo entrance, for ships operating in the oil terminals and to the Fincantieri shipyards
• the Voltri entrance, at the western end of the port, for ships operating at the Voltri Terminal Europe

Passenger Terminals

The quays of the passenger terminals extend over an area of 250 thousand square metres, with 5 equipped berths for cruise vessels and 13 for ferries, for an annual capacity of 4 million ferry passengers, 1.5 million cars and 250,000 trucks.

The historical maritime station of Ponte dei Mille is today a technologically advanced cruise terminal, with facilities designed after the world's most modern airports, in order to ensure fast embarking and disembarking of latest generation ships carrying thousand passengers.

A third cruise terminal is currently under construction in the redesigned area of Ponte Parodi, once a quay used for grain traffic.

Lighthouses

There are two major lighthouses: the historical Lanterna

Torre della Lanterna

The Lighthouse of Genoa , is the main lighthouse for the city's port. Besides being an important aid to night navigation in the vicinity, the tower serves as a symbol for the City of Genoa, and is one of the oldest standing structures of its kind in the world...

, 76 metres tall (249 feet), and the small lighthouse of Punta Vagno, at the eastern entrance of the port.

Marinas

Besides the container and the passenger terminals, the shipyards and the other industrial and cargo facilities, in the port area there are also several marina

Marina

A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....

s, where many sailboats and yachts are moored.

• The marina of the Exhibition centre (305 berths).
• The marina Duca degli Abruzzi, home of the Yacht Club Italiano
  Yacht Club Italiano
  The Yacht Club Italiano is a yacht club in Genoa, Italy. It was founded in 1879 and is one of the oldest sailing clubs in the Mediterranean. This club was bestowed Royal Patronage by HRH King Umberto I of Italy since its inception....
  
   (350 berths)
• The marina Molo Vecchio, in the area of the old harbor (160 berths for yachts up to 150 metres)
• The marina Porto antico (280 berths up to 60 metres)
• The marina Genova Aeroporto (500 berths, with new facilities for superyachts)

External links