🇬🇧 In the early 1990s the area of the Vecchia Darsena, around which the city of Savona has grown over the centuries, was characterised by a state of abandonment and degradation: on the quays, occupied by old disarmament boats, rusty sheds and drooping workshops, loomed the now inactive industrial complex of the former Italsider and the
The first embryo of the recovery plan dates back to 1996, when the Port Authority bought an old workshop from the Ferrovie dello Stato, adapting it to a maritime station and proposing itself to the world of cruises with a minimal and inexpensive solution, but very functional and particularly appreciated by operators.
Costa Riviera was the first cruise ship to dock in Savona, on November 1, 1996; a fundamental date for the new course of the city.
Subsequently, the redevelopment of the Old Dock began, which is cleaned of the staggered buildings and wrecks, while the washhouses and the ancient left-handed ones are restored, the hauling ladder is transformed into an enchanting square overlooking the sea, the piers are embellished with mosaics and colourful furniture and the body of water is transformed into a small
In short, that area until recently so degraded has become one of the most popular areas of the city, rich in pubs and restaurants, a attraction for Savona and for many young people from the nearby Riviera.
The success of the first interventions gave the Harbour Authority and the Municipality of Savona the strength to rethink the sea front, through the so-called PRUSST of Savona: a plan of public and private initiatives with a total value of over 350 million Euros, aimed at the urban and functional renewal of the area between the port and the city.
At the base of the Plan was placed the displacement of the centre of gravity of merchant activities on port areas distant from the city, around the Darsena Alti Fondali, to enhance the spaces closest to the city centre in a tourist and urban key.
The great Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill has rethought the area between port and city, designing a very modern cruise terminal (later taken as an example for its beauty and functionality) and the demolition of the old car park, to create a neighbourhood for services, trade, housing and hotels; instead of the sheds of the former Italsider, the Crescent, an a building in the shape of an amphitheatre, intended for housing and services.
The first piece of the mosaic was in place in 2003, with the inauguration of the Palacrociere, the maritime station built in close partnership between the Port Authority and Costa Crociere, which made it the homeport for its fleet in the Mediterranean.
Work continued in 2004 with the demolition of the old car park, replaced by the Torre complex, consisting of a 19-storey building sixty metres high, soaring over the courtyard buildings, which house a hotel, apartments and shops overlooking a square on two levels, all a step away from the sea and the Cruise Hall.
For Savona it is the turning point: the development of the crocieristico traffic, which quickly rises beyond 500,000 passengers, brings the city to the international limelight.
In the following years several interventions were implemented to complete the renewal plan and give continuity to the tourist development: in 2008 the third approach for cruises was inaugurated; in 2009 the new access road to the port was completed; in 2010 the Cruise Centre was equipped with a photovoltaic system able to cover a good part of the electricity needs of the terminal.
In order to improve the quality of the services offered to its guests, in 2013 Costa Cruises decided to expand its accommodation facilities by starting the construction of the new maritime station, which came into operation a year later.
In 2014 another crucial stage: Savona enters the narrow circle of ports that have hosted more than a million cruise passengers.
Today, just over twenty years after the first steps towards change, the transformation of Savona, pulled by the port and cruises has been accomplished. Port and city have found a new balance, between the merchant tradition and activities related to tourism, opening up opportunities for development for the territory and job opportunities for the new generations.
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