Wormhole

Source: flickr, fede0253

Genoa’s Centro Storico (Historic Center) is the largest medieval district in Europe, and consists of a maze of narrow, pedestrian only, winding alleyways (caruggi in the local dialect) formed by interlocked ancient buildings and walls. In most places it is so dense that only a tiny band of sky is visible. 

This is the heart of Genoa, and is also our favorite place to go exploring. Turning a corner or entering a doorway often reveals a surprising discovery, some of which are so stunning that they earn the title "wormhole" from us (similar to the Sci-Fi notion of a wormhole connecting widely separated regions of space and time). Dramatic as that may sound, it’s the best way to describe moments like the one we had this week. 

Adjacent to a main walkway in the Centro Storico is a small, graffiti-stained alley - one of the many we use regularly. Next to some dumpsters there is a nondescript door we often pass by, connected to the modest exterior of an old church (among the dozens of churches in the area). On this particular afternoon we noticed that the door happened to be open and we wandered in. Or, more accurately, we wandered into a wormhole...

We had entered the 9th century Basilica of San Siro, rebuilt in the 12th century, and restored in the 20th century to the original, magnificent Romanesque style. We also further validated our wormhole concept, and we will continue to enter (nearly) every open doorway we find!