The cliff of the Thousand and the peaceful east
Quarto dei Mille and Quinto al Mare are two names that ring together in the mind of anyone who knows the history of the Italian Risorgimento. It was from Quarto dei Mille that the expeditions of the Thousand led by Giuseppe Garibaldi departed on the night between 5 and 6 May 1860: one thousand and eighty-nine men, two ships, and the determination to free Southern Italy from Bourbon domination. That May night is one of the founding episodes of united Italy, and the exact point of departure – a flat rock on the coast of Quarto – is marked by a monument and a plaque that the Genoese visit with a silent regularity that says a lot about the relationship between this city and its history.
“The graves are uncovered, the dead are raised: our martyrs are all resurrected! It is May 5, 1860 in Quarto”
— Luigi Mercantini, The Gleaner of Sapri
But Quarto and Quinto are also, beyond their history, two residential neighborhoods in the east of Genoa with their own enviable quality of daily life: the seafront that connects them and continues towards Nervi is one of the most beautiful and least crowded stretches of coast in the entire city, with low cliffs overlooking the open sea, coves hidden among the boulders, a light that on clear days has that particular quality of the eastern Ligurian Mediterranean. They are neighborhoods that tourists do not deliberately seek out but which they discover with pleasure by following the coast on foot from Boccadasse or by getting off the train by chance.
The location – to the east of Boccadasse and to the west of Nervi, connected to both by the coast – makes them a natural piece in the exploration of the eastern Genoese seafront. The Quarto dei Mille train station is fifteen minutes by train from Brignole.
What to see in Quarto and Quinto
The main monument – and the place most full of historical significance – is the Scogliera dei Mille, on the Quarto seafront. A flat rock platform overlooking the sea, reachable by a stone staircase leading down from the promenade, with a marble plaque commemorating the departure of Garibaldi’s expedition on 5 May 1860. The Monument to the Thousand, in bronze, is located not far away on the promenade: a figure of Garibaldi pointing to the sea, created by the sculptor Eugenio Baroni and inaugurated in 1915, with the names of the over one thousand volunteers of the shipping. The place isn’t spectacular in the tourist sense of the word — there are no illuminated fountains or interactive panels — but it has that quiet quality of places where something important actually happened. The Genoese who pass by often stop for a moment, almost as an involuntary nod to the past.
The Villa Quarto, on the seafront, is the historic villa that in 1860 hosted Garibaldi in the hours before his departure: a late eighteenth-century neoclassical residence with a park overlooking the sea which today is private property and cannot be visited, but whose façade can be clearly seen from the promenade. It is interesting to know that in that villa Garibaldi spent the last hours before embarking – a night of waiting, of tension, of irreversible decisions – and that from that terrace overlooking the sea he saw the lights of Genoa for the last time before setting sail towards history.
The seafront from Quarto to Quinto – about two kilometers of coastal walk between the two neighborhoods – is one of the most evocative stretches of coast in the eastern Genoa area: the cliff is low and jagged, with small coves between the boulders where you can dive in the summer, and the open view towards the Gulf of Genoa is not interrupted by buildings. In some places the route comes so close to the sea that the waves wash over the walk with storm surges – one of those moments when the Mediterranean stops being gentle. The stretch of cliff between Quinto and Nervi, continuing towards the east, is even wilder and more panoramic.
In Quinto al Mare it is worth looking for the small and functional port, where some fishing boats still moor regularly: it is one of those fragments of authentic maritime life that the Genoese coast is slowly losing, and seeing it still functioning has something precious. Not far away, the Villa Negrotto-Cambiaso with its historic park is now owned by the Municipality and partially accessible: the garden, with monumental trees and terraces overlooking the sea, is one of the lesser-known historic parks in the eastern part of Genoa.
What to do in Quarto and Quinto
The first thing to do is walk. The route from Boccadasse to Nervi passing through Quarto and Quinto is one of the most beautiful coastal itineraries in all of Genoa: approximately seven-eight kilometers of seafront and cliffs with the ever-present sea, crossing villages and neighborhoods that change character every kilometre. You can do all or part of it, using the train to return from the Nervi or Quarto stop without having to walk back. On a day of good weather and with comfortable footwear it is an experience of absolute quality.
The coves on the cliff between Quarto and Quinto are the favorite bathing places for the residents of the neighborhood: there are no equipped bathing establishments, there are no sunbeds or umbrellas, only rocks smoothed by the water where you can lie down in the sun and dive into the clear waters. Access is free and free, the coves can be reached by going down the stairs that open along the promenade at regular intervals. In summer, during the central hours of the day, the easier coves fill up, but you just need to move a few hundred meters to find space. The quality of the water is among the best on the entire Genoese coast.
The Villa Negrotto-Cambiaso Park in Quinto is open on weekends and offers a pleasant green stop between one stretch of seafront and another: tall trees that create natural shade on summer afternoons, benches on the edge of the terraces overlooking the sea, some fountains that work. It is not cared for with the perfection of the Nervi Parks, but it has a naturalness and an absence of tourist attendance that makes it particularly enjoyable.
Where to eat and drink in Quarto and Quinto
The gastronomic scene of Quarto and Quinto is that of the residential neighborhoods of the eastern Genoese area: sober, qualitative, oriented towards residents. There are no famous restaurants or addresses in any national guide, but there are places that have been cooking well for years without seeking notoriety. The fish trattorias in the streets near the sea offer menus of the day based on the local catch: cuttlefish, shrimp, blue fish – Ligurian amberjack, fried anchovies, steamed red mullet – with prices that reflect the distance from the tourist circuits (€€).
The focaccerie of Quarto and Quinto churn out focaccia until lunchtime: the one in eastern Genoa follows the classic recipe but with local variations that include focaccia with caramelized onions and the one with pickled olives, both worth trying (€). The seafront bars are perfect for a morning breakfast before a walk on the cliff, or for a cool stop with a Sicilian blood orange fruit juice in the summer afternoon (€). Some artisanal ice cream shops along the route offer a sweet break after swimming (€).
For a complete meal, the trattorias of Via Quarto – the main street of the neighborhood, parallel to the seafront towards the interior – offer traditional Genoese cuisine with generous portions and a residential neighborhood atmosphere without too much ceremony: the type of place that you discover thanks to the advice of a Genoese friend and that never disappoints (€€).
How to get to and around Quarto and Quinto
The Quarto dei Mille station is the most convenient arrival point: regional trains from Brignole station in around twelve to fifteen minutes, with regular frequency during daytime hours. The station is a five-minute walk from the seafront and the Scogliera dei Mille. For Quinto al Mare the station is the same as Quarto but the walk to the Quinto seafront takes about ten minutes.
By bus, the AMT lines 15 and 16 connect Quarto and Quinto with the Brignole station and the center of Genoa in approximately twenty-twenty-five minutes. On foot from Boccadasse, the route along the seafront to Quarto takes about thirty minutes: a pleasant way to arrive starting from Foce-Brignole. By car, parking is available in the streets of the neighborhood without particular difficulties on weekdays; on summer weekends it is better to use the train.
Where to sleep in Quarto and Quinto
Staying in Quarto or Quinto means having the best of the Genoese east at your fingertips: the sea with free coves, the panoramic seafront, Boccadasse thirty minutes away on foot and Nervi twenty minutes away by train, the historic center of Genoa reachable in a quarter of an hour. It is the ideal choice for those who want a seaside stay in Genoa without giving up cultural excursions in the city.
The prices of the apartments are lower than in Boccadasse and Foce, and the quality of the spaces is often superior: villas with gardens from the 1950s, apartments in Art Nouveau buildings with sea terraces, independent houses overlooking the cliff. The neighborhood is quiet, safe and well served by all essential shops.
Explore the nearby neighborhoods too: if Quarto e Quinto has intrigued you, also discover our guides on Boccadasse, Sturla and Nervi. Each area of Genoa has its own character and its own surprises.
In the Quarto and Quinto al Mare area we manage ideal apartments for those who want the authentic sea of Genoa without the tourist crowds. Discover our residences on genovabb.it and choose your place on the eastern seafront. Book directly online.
The eastern corridor: from Boccadasse to Nervi
Quarto and Quinto are located in the middle of the large coastal corridor of the Genoese east, which starts from Boccadasse and arrives at Nervi through approximately ten kilometers of cliffs, seafront and villages. Knowing both terminal points of this route makes the visit to Quarto and Quinto richer in context and historical-geographical significance.
The night of May 5, 1860: the departure of the Thousand
To understand the meaning of the Scogliera dei Mille we must imagine that night between 5 and 6 May 1860. Garibaldi and his one thousand and eighty-nine men had arrived in Quarto in the previous hours, hidden in the apartments and warehouses of the village to avoid interception by the Piedmontese authorities – the expedition was formally illegal, even if the Cavour government tolerated it with one eye closed and one eye open. The boarding had to take place at night, quickly, on two steamships – the Piemonte and the Lombardo – which Garibaldi’s companions had hijacked in the port of Genoa. The flat rock of Quarto was the embarkation point chosen for its discretion: far from the main port, accessible by a stone staircase that went down directly to the sea.
That night the sea was calm. The Thousand embarked in silence, the trunks and crates of weapons were loaded with the utmost rapidity, and the two ships left the gulf southward in the darkness. They arrived in Marsala, Sicily, on May 12, starting the military campaign which in a few months led to the liberation of Southern Italy and the unification of the Peninsula. Subsequent Italian history would have taken a completely different shape if something had gone wrong that night. Standing on the Cliff of the Thousand and looking south at the sea is looking in the direction where those ships disappeared into the darkness.
The Monument to the Thousand, inaugurated in 1915 for the fifty-fifth anniversary of the expedition, is the work of the Savonese sculptor Eugenio Baroni: a bronze figure of Garibaldi, standing with his arm stretched out towards the sea, with the names of the one thousand and eighty-nine participants of the expedition engraved on the base at the sides. The list of names is in itself an extraordinary document: there are artisans and lawyers, students and soldiers, Genoese and Lombard and Sicilians and foreigners – Hungarians, English, Poles – who had chosen to risk their lives for a political idea in a country that did not yet exist. Reading those names taking your time is an exercise in concrete history that no textbook can match.
The nineteenth-century villas of Via Quarto
Via Quarto, the main street of the neighborhood which runs parallel to the seafront towards the interior, is flanked by a succession of nineteenth-century villas and cottages of great architectural interest. Many are still private residences, with carefully maintained gardens and restored or awaiting restoration facades. There is no official itinerary of the villas – there are no explanatory plaques or visiting hours – but walking along Via Quarto with a little attention towards the facades allows you to read a century and a half of Genoese bourgeois residential architecture in its evolution from neoclassical to liberty to the rationalist of the 1930s.
Some of these villas have interesting stories: one was the refuge of an intellectual of the Risorgimento, another hosted for years a painter from the Tuscan Macchiaioli School who came to Genoa for the particular light of the East. There are no official documents attesting to this, but the older residents of the neighborhood pass down these stories with the naturalness of those who have heard them so many times that they no longer distinguish legend from history. Perhaps this is the most Genoese thing of all.
The coastal path from Quinto towards Nervi
The stretch of coastal path that leads from Quinto al Mare towards Nervi is one of the most beautiful and wild walking routes on the Genoese coast. The cliff becomes increasingly higher and more complex, the boulders on the shore larger, the sea more visible and immediate. The route is not always continuously signposted and requires attention in some points where the path comes very close to the edge of the cliff: it is not dangerous for an attentive adult, but requires appropriate footwear and is not suitable for small children. There are stretches where you literally walk on the rock overlooking the sea, with the transparent water below showing the bottom three-four meters deep in the most sheltered coves. In summer the temptation to stop and swim is almost irresistible, and there is no reason to resist.
The route from Quinto to Nervi takes about an hour and can be done in one direction or the other: from Nervi you can take the train to return to Quinto, or vice versa. It is the type of excursion that many Genoese people do on Sunday mornings in summer as an alternative to the beach: more tiring, much more beautiful, much less crowded. Bringing a backpack with water, sunscreen and a snack is enough for a quality experience.
Quarto and the sea: the maritime identity that persists
Quarto dei Mille has maintained a stronger connection with the sea than its appearance as a residential neighborhood suggests. The small port of Quinto still hosts fishing boats that go out regularly: red mullet and sea bream, sea bass and sea bass caught with nets and long lines not far from the coast. In the bars near the marina in the morning you still hear the expression “tonight’s sea” – how it was, if there was wind, if you could go out – with that naturalness of those who consider the sea not a background but a variable of their day. It’s a remnant of authentic maritime culture that modern Genoa is rapidly losing, and finding it still alive in Quinto is something worth noticing and appreciating.
Quarto and Quinto al Mare are also, in this sense, the silent custodians of a piece of national history that other places celebrate with more fanfare but perhaps with less authenticity. Coming here is not doing Risorgimento tourism in the museum sense of the term: it is staying on a rock where something important really happened, breathing the same sea wind, looking at the same horizon. The Mediterranean has not changed. The sky has not changed. And this, strangely, is comforting.
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