Creuza De Mä: Genoa's Pathways of Connection and Resistance

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This article is dedicated to Genoa and all the coastal cities that captivate travellers, not only for their privileged geographical position, but also for the distinctive characteristics that define them, shaped over time through the countless passages and movements they have witnessed.

Creuza De Mä is a Ligurian expression and a famous song by Fabrizio de André that instantly evokes mule tracks and hillside paths, often unpaved or stone-laid and bordered by walls, that connect patches of land or lead to small villages, both coastal and inland hamlets, used also for the passage of pack animals and that characterise various landscapes throughout Italy.

These are paths usually travelled only by local inhabitants or by curious and intrepid wanderers who favour uncertain routes, away from common itineraries, those who refuse to miss even the smallest corner, not a single nuance or detail of their destination or place visited: trails that make themselves felt beneath your feet and in your legs, that leave no room for distraction, but compel your eyes to look carefully around so that nothing escapes your notice, in the earth ahead, or in the expanse of water that stretches across the horizon.

The term Creuza De Mä, in fact, also refers to a meteorological phenomenon of calm sea when, rippled on the surface by gusts and whirlwinds, it takes on curved and twisted streaks of dark or silvery colour that create imaginary roads to follow for embarking on fantastic voyages, real or imagined. And indeed, in the musical piece, the story is told of those who are forced to take these paths to live and survive, like fishermen, whose existence is reserved for resignation and ironic hope, long and exhausting voyages and brief moments of comfort in the tavern at the harbour.

An experience widespread among sailors and wanderers for centuries upon centuries, one that you breathe in frequently in these places, ancient points of reference for trade and commerce that have welcomed men from all over the world and, with them, their hardships, frustrations and aspirations.

Nowhere more than in coastal cities is it possible to walk feeling everywhere the flavour of cultures and traditions from other countries, distant or nearby, as well as sensing words, manners and habits that arrive from afar and have mingled to create a new way of being and living.

Even today it is here where special encounters can happen, where the taste of salt spray mingles with that of earth, where sounds and fragrances recall lands from every part of the world, where you perceive on your skin both the pleasure and, at the same time, the weariness of travel, the ability to remain simple and yet always to be amazed, the desire for beauty. It is here where, walking, you can feel the melancholy of those awaiting a return, the nostalgia of a love interrupted, the joy of a new beginning, the faith of those who know that one day they will manage to depart, the humanity of those who have seen everything and aspire to nothing more.

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