Via XX Settembre (20th September Street), Genoa

Known locally as “Via Venti” (or Street Twenty), this street shares its name with plenty of others across Italy-and that’s no coincidence. It commemorates 20 September 1870, the day Italian troops broke through the Pia Gate of the Vatican and brought the Church’s temporal power to an end-the last big step toward a unified Italy. Not bad for a shopping street...

In Genoa, 20th September Street had a previous life as Giulia Street, until the city decided-between 1892 and 1912-to give it a serious upgrade. The plan sounded good on paper, but reality involved demolition, objections, and a fair amount of foot-dragging. Property owners complained, churches protested, and progress stalled more than once. Modernization, it turns out, rarely arrives without an argument...

The new street followed the old route of Giulia Street but stretched it further, running from Ferrari Square all the way toward the Monumental Bridge and onward to Pia Gate. Right at its center, the Monumental Bridge makes a dramatic appearance, cutting across the street lengthwise. Supported by broad marble arches, it works on two levels at once: traffic flows below along Street Twenty, while above, Corso Andrea Podestà carries on its own business.

Today, the walk from Ferrari Square to Vittoria Square takes about ten to fifteen minutes, assuming you don’t get distracted-which is optimistic. This is Genoa’s main shopping artery, served by buses from all corners of the city and lined with everything from international chain stores to elegant historic façades. Take a moment, and you’ll spot Art Nouveau details, polished pavements, and long colonnades that double as shelter when the weather turns uncooperative.

Urban planners might dream of pedestrianizing a street like this, but Street Twenty has other plans. With nearly three miles of shops and constant traffic flowing through, it remains a working spine of the city-busy, noisy, and perpetually alive. Indeed, history, commerce, and daily life all pass through here, usually at the same time.