Black Coffee No Sugar – Genoa

A photographic journey through the city of Genoa, exploring the past of historic buildings, the contemporaneity of the first modern museums, and Franco Albini’s interiors.

The protagonist of this new book by Giovanna Silva is the city of Genoa. From spontaneous walks through Genoa, in search of its contemporary architecture—hidden between causeways, sea, and steep hills—Silva moves to Franco Albini’s interiors. Albini, called to design and rethink the city’s museum system by the legendary figure of Caterina Marcenaro—the first historian of Italian art, thwarted by the entire male clan of the time—builds and perfects pieces of Genoa making it a more modern city. Silva’s book is a look at these places that combine the past of historic buildings with the contemporaneity of the first modern museums. Her photos are in dialogue with those of Paolo Monti, who instead photographed Albini’s work during construction at the end of the forties.