Famous People
Chrisopher Columbus
Though there are different theories about his origin, the academic fact is that Columbus was born in Genoa in 1451. He's the one who has made Europe aware of the existence of the American continents, although he wasn't the first one to put his foot on the land of the indigenous Americans.His first trip took place on august 1492, when he took off of the Spanish coast with three well known boats: Nina, Pinta e Santa Maria. October 12th, 1492 is the official day when Americas were found and also the date of the start of the Modern Era.
Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini was a controversial Genoese violinist, guitarist and composer. His great virtuosity was considered a mysterious pact with the devil. Still, Paganini left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His musical talent was discovered when he was very young, which earned him a lot of scholarships for violin lessons. One of his most famous composition is the "24 Caprices for solo Violin".
Paolo Villaggio
Most probably there is no Italian that hadn't seen at least once in his life the famous Fantozzi, the cult of Italian cinematography. Paolo Villaggio, well known Genoese actor, famed ironical and satirical writer and director, created his most famous character Ugo Fantozzi out of his personal experience when he worked as clerk for the Italsider steel major.
Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano is a world wide known architect born in Genoa in 1937. He studied at the University of Architecture in Florence and Milan, and graduated at Politecnico in Milan. Afterwards he travelled a lot from the USA to England to complete his studies and work formation. In 1988 the City of Genoa employed him to reconstruct the Porto Antico, the famous Genoese seaport.