MARINA DI PORTO ANTICO, A HIGH-LEVEL HARBOUR

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Just few more weeks and Marina di Porto Antico, in Genoa, will turn 20. It can seem a short time, especially if compared to the history of the city. On the contrary, it’s a continuity sign in the marine tradition of Genoa.

” We arose- explains Andrea Barbagelata, Chairman of the Board of the society which runs the marina – where Genoa was born and grew. There’s a historical, cultural, urban bond between the harbour and Genoa. Though young, Marina di Porto Antico is at the heart of this story written over the centuries”.

If legal training characterises Andrea Barbagelata’s entrepreneurial activity, his love for sea and the city gives a special connotation to the marina management, where, beyond a business logic, there’s a strict bond with the place where the jetties of Porto Antico arise, exactly where Pre-Colombian port facilities were once located, built between 1000 and 1200 and later restored by the Marina’s society.

“Yes – the President confirms – they’re are still visible and we’ve recovered them these years in collaboration with the Archeological Council. They represent the tangible evidence of the bond between Genoa and the sea and its inclination to look beyond”.

For its 20th anniversary, Marina di Porto Antico will propose a celebration dedicated to both old and new customers, even if the first ones are very few.

” It’s true – says the President – we’ve many loyal customers. For two reasons: first, because our customer is generally non-migratory, the percentage of transits, though significant, is a very small part of our activity. Then, because we pay much attention to our customers through the quality and quantity of our services and, above all, through a familiar human contact. Often, our customers become our friends”.

Among the authors of this successful reality, there is certainly the staff of Porto Antico. Whoever has spent even just one night here, has certainly seen their professionalism, friendliness and availability.

“Our operators – says Barbagelata – are with us for years, someone even since the foundation. On the technical level, we have aimed to the highest vocational training, far beyond what required by laws in terms of safety, sea rescue, fire-fighting, security. In addition to that, there are the human qualities of these people who, together with my brother Massimiliano and Anna Albani, make this Marina an advanced harbour in terms of services and hospitality.