Journey to Genoa, guardian of the sea

That Genoa The city is deeply connected to the sea, as its historical rival Venice is no longer, as can be seen on the streets of its historic core. The smell of the sea reaches there, and in the bakeries you can eat delicious focaccia with flavor Mediterranean, thanks to the abundance of oil and sea salt. This coastal city in the northwest of Italy is so attached to the sea that it seems to want to embrace it. The very symbol of Genoa, which was one of the most important financial centers of Europe at the beginning of the modern era, is its lighthouse, known as the Lanterna, one of the tallest in the world (in the 15th century, one of its keepers was Antonio Colombo, the uncle of the navigator who “discovered” America in 1492). But today the city has another symbol: its famous aquarium, which has been visited by 30 million people since its opening in 1992. “Our mission is to raise awareness of the problems affecting marine ecosystems and the importance of biodiversity for our planet,” he explains to La Voz Laura Castellano, marine biologist and head of the aquarium’s Mediterranean sector. Scientific coordinator Guido Gnone, adds: “Here we say, know how to love, love to protect.” If you don’t know something exists, your desire to protect it cannot exist either.

It seems to be working. Walking the corridors of the aquarium in Genoa, you see Italian, Chinese and German children staring at dolphins, biologists diving to bring them food. sharks or manatees cwith their elegant movements (it is no coincidence that the myth of mermaids originated from these marine mammals). But adults are also impressed: from jellyfish to tropical fish, from from seals to penguins, you can see around 10,000 specimens of 400 different species at the Genoa Aquarium.

animals in distress

According to Castellano, there is a growing awareness of the needs of marine animals and the importance of their protection. Last summer, for example, some young people reported that a turtle had laid eggs on a beach in Levant, about 80 kilometers from Genoa, and when Castellano arrived he learned that they had been watching the nest until the Coast Guard protected it. The aquarium also helps wildlife in need. Especially turtles that get caught in fishing nets or are injured by ships, and after being taken care of in an aquarium, they return to their natural habitat.

But a few years ago Castellano also took care of a manta ray that got entangled in the fishermen’s fishing lines. who was fishing from the shore, and she emotionally recalls how the animal allowed her to get close to remove the lines and hooks. The institution also collaborates on scientific and conservation projects with universities and research centers around the world, from the Mediterranean basin to Madagascar, the Maldives and even Antarctica.

But the aquarium is not the only place in Genoa dedicated to the protection of the sea. A few steps away, in the splendid Villa del Príncipe built in the 16th century (when Genoa was an ally and financier of Spain), there is the Genoa Maritime Center, a branch of one of the main scientific research institutions in the Mediterranean, the Zoological Station Anton Dohrn in Naples. According to its director of research, Paolo Guidetti, it is crucial that human beings return to balance in our relationship with the environment. “Nature can provide us with many resources and services,” he explains. For example, the oceans create 50% of the oxygen needed and absorb a quarter of CO2 emissions. “But we shouldn’t exploit it beyond a certain level, which we’ve already far exceeded.”