Tag: buildings

Carrugio Dritto in the old town of Chiavari.
Walking through the centre of Chiavari, I found myself following one of the streets that best captures the everyday character of the town, with its arcades, shops, historic buildings and long perspective. This photograph is about Carrugio Dritto in Chiavari, a simple but very recognisable view of the old town.
I took this photograph myself during a walk through Chiavari, stopping for a moment to look along the street. I did not need a complicated composition: the succession of buildings and arcades already created an interesting perspective. Carrugio Dritto naturally draws the eye forward and makes it easy to appreciate the structure of this part of the historic centre.
Chiavari is in Liguria, in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, along the Gulf of Tigullio in Italy. If you are wondering what to see in Chiavari, the old town is one of the natural places to start, not only because of its historic architecture but also because the streets still have a very everyday atmosphere. This is one of the reasons I enjoy photographing Chiavari: interesting images can appear during an ordinary walk, without needing a special event or a particular occasion.
Carrugio Dritto crosses the historic centre along a route characterised by the typical Ligurian arcades. Walking through it, you encounter shops, entrances to homes, historic façades and small architectural details that change depending on where you stand. In this photograph, I wanted to preserve that feeling of continuity and allow the perspective of the street itself to lead the viewer through the image.
One of the details I find most interesting about the old streets of Chiavari is the relationship between the road and the arcades. This is not simply a narrow alley. The covered walkways create a more open urban space while providing shelter and allowing people to move between buildings. The result is an architectural feature that still belongs to everyday life in the city.
The historic centre of Chiavari is particularly known for its medieval arcades, which developed along important commercial streets. Their original purpose was practical: they offered shelter while creating useful spaces for commercial activities. It is a small historical detail, but it changes the way I look at a photograph like this because what may appear to be a simple architectural feature is actually connected with the practical needs of the city’s past.
When I photograph a street like Carrugio Dritto, I also enjoy looking at details that could easily be overlooked. Shop signs, façades, windows, columns and the changing lines of the arcades all become part of the image. There does not have to be a famous monument in the middle of the frame. Sometimes the combination of ordinary details says much more about a town.
Carrugio Dritto is also a useful starting point for exploring Chiavari on foot. From here, you can continue through other streets in the historic centre, reach Piazza Mazzini, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Montallegro’s local reference points, and the areas closer to the harbour. Walking rather than following a strict itinerary makes it easier to notice the smaller details along the way.
If you are visiting Chiavari and looking for places worth seeing, I have also created a photographic guide to Chiavari on the site. I like connecting these stories because a single street such as Carrugio Dritto becomes more meaningful when it is seen alongside the other places I have photographed in the town.
Chiavari is a very rewarding place for urban photography. You can walk without a precise destination and still find different perspectives at every turn. A street can look completely different a few metres further on, while the arcades create repeating architectural lines that give each section its own character.
This photograph came from one of those walks. I stopped because the scene in front of me seemed worth preserving, even though for someone who lives in Chiavari it might be an entirely ordinary part of the daily landscape. That is also why I continue photographing familiar places: over time, you begin to notice details that might have escaped your attention on the first visit.
Carrugio Dritto is therefore more than just a street to cross on the way somewhere else. It is one of the views that helps reveal the structure of Chiavari’s historic centre and the relationship between its streets, buildings and commercial life.
Looking at this photograph again, what I like most is how quickly it brings me back to that walk. It is not an image intended to tell the entire story of Chiavari. It is simply one fragment of the town, seen from my own viewpoint. Over time, many fragments like this can become a larger visual memory of the places I have visited and photographed.

If you visit Chiavari, do you find yourself stopping to look at the old streets and arcades, or are you more attracted to the views towards the sea? Add a comment or go to the bottom of the site to read what other visitors have written.

Photo taken with Canon EOS M100 camera and Canon EF-S 10-18 lens.