The Batteries Visitor Center in the Portofino Park has been closed (updated)

Sunday 27 September was the last day of opening of the "Silvio Somazzi Battery Center" and it is not known if it will reopen next year.

Located in a very suggestive position on the promontory from a naturalistic point of view, between the Bric Campana upstream and Punta Chiappa towards the sea, the Center is located in the building that once housed the Guard Corps and was created to enhance this corner of the Park of Portofino rich in history.

Here, in fact, there are the war artifacts built in 1941 by the Royal Italian Army with the aim of protecting the port of Genoa and since 1943 occupied by German troops. With the conclusion of the Second World War, the military posts were abandoned and, over time, decay and vegetation took over.

In 2014, thanks to the project to enhance the natural and cultural resources of Liguria, the whole area was recovered and rearranged, creating a path between the bunkers equipped with explanatory panels also equipped with QR codes to access, through the smartphone, all the related information .

The project included the creation of the Visitor Center, designed to illustrate the history of the 202nd Punta Chiappa battery through technological systems, rental of mini Ipads with the "Chiappa Batteries" application or guided tours accompanied by the Park guides.

During these seven years, the Visitor Center has been a point of attraction for many Italian and foreign tourists, so we hope that the closure is only temporary and that it will be reopened next year.

CURIOSITY ABOUT THE NAME "BATTERIA CHIAPPA"

- Batteria is a set of similar structures, in the case of the Park of Portofino it refers to three anti-ship positions, equipped with 152mm guns

- Punta Chiappa: It takes its name from the singular rock of puddinga that extends over the sea, called Punta Chiappa which in Genoese means flat tip .
(source: "Le Batterie del Parco di Portofino" text by Claudio Solimano)