UB have taken a trip to the historic but grotty city of Genoa.
FROM: +++++ CENTRE ++++
TO: +++++ FIELD +++
LOCATION: + GENOA +++
Genoa has a population of 590,000 but that population is rapidly sinking due to economic failure. Modern buildings have a tendency to collapse without warning in Genoa due to shoddy construction and poor maintenance. Such buildings are found most often in the eastern and western suburbs. In central Genoa the city is surrounded by steep hills rising from the port area. A series of funicular railways takes people up and down the hills.
The port of Genoa, on the other hand, is the busiest cargo port in Italy and equals Marseille and Barcelona as the biggest in the Mediterranean. Several cruise and ferry lines serve the passenger terminals, with a traffic of 3.2 million passengers per year. The port of Genoa is a gateway for organized crime and drug trafficking. It is the route of choice for cocaine travelling from Colombia into Italy, from where it is distributed to the European market. Genoa is the hub also of the Tramadol ‘fighter drug’ operation. Generic Tramadol is bought cheaply from India and then sold to jihadis, especially in Libya, at a huge mark up. The city’s mosques also have close links with Syria.
There are a number of security forces active in Genoa. The Polizia di Stato (1008) is the civilian police. There is a provincial command in Genoa. Nucleo Operativo Centrale di Sicurezza (NOCS) is the specialist CT unit. Genoa has its own Polizia Locale (0203) answering to the mayor. The Guardia di Finanza is a military corps under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance focusing on money laundering, drug trafficking and terrorist financing. The Arma dei Carabinieri (0302), known as the Arma, is a military force under the Ministry of Defence: The Carabinieri deal with mass violence and rioting. The Arma’s specialist CT unit is the Gruppo di Intervento Speciale (GIS). The Direzione Investigativa Antimafia (or DIA) is a joint organization of Polizia di Stato, Carabinieri, and Guardia di Finanza for the fight against organized crime.
Italy maintains four intelligence agencies: the Agenzia Informazioni e Sicurezza Interna (AISI), Agenzia Informazioni e Sicurezza Esterna (AISE), the Dipartimento delle Informazioni per la Sicurezza (DIS), all controlled by the Prime Minister, and the armed forces’ Reparto Informazioni e Sicurezza (RIS).
Genoa airport is built on an artificial peninsula five miles west of the city.
0105: The Lanterna is Genoa’s lighthouse, built in 1543, 250 feet high, still functioning and manned by the Italian navy.
0106: Terminal for bulk perishables and organics. The dock is 193 meters (633.2 feet) with alongside depth of 10 meters (32.8 feet).
0206: The Port of Genoa Metals Terminal covers four hectares. Its dock is 925 meters (3035 feet) long with alongside depth to 11 meters (36.1 feet).
0303/0403: Ponte dei Mille and Ponte Andrea Doria, operated by Stazioni Marittime Genova SpA, have 4 dedicated docks, 340m, 290m and 2 x 300m in length for cruise ships.
0304: Genoa handles 2.5 million passengers a year from five terminals. Ferries sail to Sardinia, Sicily, Corsica, Spain, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria
0306: Port of Genoa Oil Terminal: The terminal covers an area of 12.3 hectares that include a quay, wharf, and four piers. The terminal handles crude oil and derivatives. The four docks total 1000 metres in length with a draft of 12 metres (39.4 feet).
0402: The main railway station is an ornate neo-classical edifice erected in the nineteenth century. It is the hub for long-distance rail services. Fast inter-city trains run to Rome, Turin, Milan, La Spezia, Zurich, Cannes, Nice and Marseilles.
0501: Located on the high ground above the port, the botanical gardens date from the nineteenth century. There are six glasshouses on the one hectare site run by the University.
0502: The Grand Hotel Savoia, built in 1897, is a five-star hotel that tends to attract well-heeled business travellers. It has 117 rooms including some very luxurious suites.
0503: Despite the name the Old Port is a modern development, albeit framed by many old buildings. It boasts restaurants, museums, an aquarium, an auditorium, a botanical garden in a bubble, a submarine, a replica galleon and a gigantic octopus crane used to hoist visitors aloft for a better view.
0504: The old mole is now Genoa yacht marina. It has one-hundred-and-sixty yacht berths and can accommodate super yachts up to 80 metres in length.
0607: Molo Giano is the rental yacht marina. Most types are available for hire.
0704: The Doge’s Palace was begun in the thirteenth century but has undergone various transformations since. Its large major restoration was completed in 1992. The palace is a museum and cultural venue but it is also used to host major international events such as G7 summits.
0805: Built in 1905 in the the Art Deco style, the Bristol Palace inspired Hitchcock’s Vertigo. It is a luxury hotel for the rich cultural set located in the old town.
0807: The Bentley was originally a corporate HQ built in 1929. It is the luxury hotel that leans most into modernity.
0808: Genoa’s conference centre was built on the seafront in 1962. It contains eight exhibition and conference halls used for public events and business-to-business gatherings. The Primavera Exhibition is staged each spring.
0908: The Palasport is the other half of Genoa’s waterfront business complex. It is a 15,000-seater circular indoor sports stadium. It is also Genoa’s main concert venue.
0907: The Ospedale Galliera was originally founded in the early nineteenth century: it retains its impressive old crescent facade. OG is now the main general hospital for central Genoa with all the major medical specialities and a casualty department.
1005: Stazione Brignole was built in 1905 at the foot of the Montesano. Brignole is the hub for the local and regional railway network. The main entrance faces on to Piazza Verdi.
1006: Piazza Verdi is a heavily wooded park at the heart of what is now a major road intersection.
1007: The place of victory is an urban square dominated by a huge Fascist triumphal arch, unveiled in the 1930s and restored in 2008. The square is used as a car park by Genovese civil servants.
1105: Genoa town hall is housed in a magnificent nineteenth century palace on the so-called street of palaces (Via Garibaldi). The mayor has his office in the palace. A roof garden links the prefecture with the neighbouring Palazzo Bianco which is a museum.
180 Notes
As ever, our purpose is to give the GM enough information to run a scenario in the city.
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