Murta is a village included in the city of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

in northwest

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Geography

It is part of the district of Bolzaneto, in Valpolcevera municipality, of which is a separate hamlet, located on the ridge a hill at the right bank of the torrent

Polcevera The Polcevera (in Ligurian ''Pûçéivia'' or ''Ponçéivia'') is a river in Liguria (Italy). Geography The river is named the Polcevera from Pontedecimo, at the confluence of the Torrente Riccò (left-hand) and torrente Verde (right-hand). ...

. In the past most people were farmers (the most famous product was the Polcevera white

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

, also produced today, although in limited quantity). Today Murta is a residential area with many small villas built along the side of the hill.

History

The village name derives from the plant of myrtle, in

Latin language Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

just called "murta". The first documents on the Parish of Murta dates from 1143, when it was included on the Register of Diocese of Genoa (wanted by Archbishop Siro II) as a chapel subject to the main church of Rivarolo. In Murta was born Giovanni da Murta which was the second Doge of the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...

from 1344 to 1350. Like all Valpolcevera, in 1746 the village was involved in

War of Austrian Succession War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

and was occupied by an Austrian-Piedmontese army led by the General Botta Adorno, which came up to Genoa, from where was expelled after the popular revolt of December 5th, 1746, set up with the legendary episode of Balilla. Another Austrian army returned the following year and this time the occupation, lasted from April 11 to July 19, 1747, had even more devastating effects. The Austrians had their headquarters in the Palace Bonarota (Villa Clorinda) and their troops devastated the entire village. All the church vestments and vessels were stolen and the church itself seriously damaged. Also many private houses were plundered and many of them also burnt-out. The local historian Luigi Persoglio wrote that 350 people died, some because of fighting against the invaders, but most for hardships and privations that people suffered in those tragic months. Genova Murta-chiesa san Martino

Main sights

Church of San Martino

The church, dedicated to St. Martin of Tours, was completely rebuilt in the eighteenth century on the existing one. In 1747, during the

, it suffered serious damages. The rebuilding was completed in 1770, and the inside was remade in

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style. Valuable paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries adorn the

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

and side

altars An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganism, ...

. The most precious painting is the icon of St. Martin, attributed to Flemish painter

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...

. The painting was saved by the looting of 1747, as it had been carried to Genoa. In the past the village of Murta was famous also for a great and very old

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

next to the church. In some feasts among the branches of this tree was set a temporary cafè (like during the St. Martin feast of 1897). The old tree, already in decay, fell down in August 1948, during a violent storm.

Villas and palaces

Since the 16th century on Murta hill were built many villas and palaces, used as summer residences by rich and noble Genoese families. Most of these palaces still exist and now, restructured, have become luxurious houses. Among them the best known is Villa Clorinda, which belonged to several rich Genoese families (Bonarota, Doria and Costa) and today is a luxury residence. In 1747, during the Austrian occupation of Valpolcevera, it became the headquarters of the invaders' army.

Events

Pumpkin exhibition

The village of Murta is known for the Pumpkin Exhibition called ''Dalla A alla ... Zucca'' (“Zucca” in Italian means “Pumpkin”). It takes place for two consecutive weekends, during the feast of Saint Martin, on the middle of November. This show is an interesting exhibition of

pumpkins A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...

, squashes and

gourds Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and ''Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the earli ...

, including traditional and exotic as well. During the feast the bigger (in 2007 an

Atlantic Giant A giant pumpkin is an orange fruit of the squash '' Cucurbita maxima'', commonly weighing from to over .Karl, J. R. 2014. ''Cleaning the Giant Pumpkin'' History Growing giant pumpkins emerged out of the North American agricultural traditio ...

of 325 kg), the longest and the most strange pumpkins are rewarded. At this exhibition people can enjoy many dishes and drinks based on pumpkin: pumpkin

fritters A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables or other ingredients which have been battered or breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-fried. Fritters are prepared in both sweet and savory var ...

, sweet and savoury, Genoese savoury pumpkin

pie A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), swe ...

and pumpkin

grappa Grappa is an alcoholic beverage: a fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy of Italian origin that contains 35 to 60 percent alcohol by volume (70 to 120 US proof). Grappa is made by distilling the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems (i.e., the poma ...

. web site
Murtaezucche.it

References

* * {{coord, 44, 27, 42, N, 8, 53, 22, E, type:landmark_source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title Quartieri of Genoa