Towards the end of the 19th century, it became fashionable in Italy to build covered pedestrian areas with elegant wrought iron and glass structures resembling the passages in Paris, so that people could stroll in the city centre, where the fashionable shops and cafés were, without the bother of having to carry an umbrella or a parasol.
This is how gallerie, or shopping arcades like Galleria Mazzini, came to exist. Opened in 1872 at the same time as equally stylish Via Roma, Galleria Mazzini is a mere stone-throw away from the Opera House.
Although some thought it was excessively over-stated, Galleria Mazzini soon became an elegant meeting place, surrounded as it was by fashionable bars and cafés, where intellectuals met.
Nowadays, under the translucent roof of the Galleria, the Genoese mainly browse for books and pieces of antique furniture, century-old prints, old postcards, antiques of all kinds and historical coins.
The Book Trade Fair (in December up to Christmas and for a short time around Easter-time) is an appointment that bookworms cannot possibly miss, as the well-stocked stalls offer a bit of everything as far as written and printed matter from the last century and a half is concerned. Antiques enthusiasts have excellent reasons to visit the Galleria every third Wednesday and Thursday of the month.
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