Tourism and mega events: the case of Genoa

Abstract

Genoa and Turin, among Italian medium-sized cities, carried out major urban regeneration plans between the 20th and the 21st centuries. Genoa concentrated on the enhancement of its old town centre through three events: (1) 1992, the EXPO to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus was the occasion for the integration of part of the historic port with the old town centre, as designed by Renzo Piano; (2) 2001, the year of the G8 summit held in Genoa (with a tragic outcome) an operational Strategic Plan was drawn up and in 2000 an Integrated Plan for the Old Town Centre was included; (3) 2004, the year in which Genoa was designated European Capital of Culture. Thanks to funds made available for these three events, numerous projects were carried out. The conclusions present the three requisites for success.