Narration of the recent history of the port of Genoa must include the chronicle of the first half of the twentieth century.
The time of greatest development of the port was between 1923 and 1929: 274 million lire were invested, with which the existing structures were strengthened and renewed, dry docks were built and, in 1935, the road for heavy vehicles was opened, for the transport of goods by road.
However, there is also a history made up not only of great works, new structures, changes and development: it is the history of the years of World War II from 1940 to 1945. Genoa, in fact, port and industrial city, the leading Italian port, for the entire duration of the war was one of the privileged targets of the Allied bombardments by land and sea. In the five years of the War there were 86 air raids on the cities and as many by sea. At the end of the War, the situation was dramatic: the city was almost razed to the ground and its port seriously damaged.
The expensive works that were carried out in the previous period suffered considerable damage and some were completely destroyed. The entire port basin was littered with mines and the entrances to the port were blocked by many sunken boats, the piers and dams seriously damaged.
There were two most famous sea bombardments. The first, on June 14, 1940, coincided with the first offensive action of the Allies and was a light bombardment. The second attack, on February 9, 1941, by the Royal Navy, caused much more serious damage than the first. The bombs hit the port and the heart of the city, damaging squares, houses and important historical buildings such as the Cathedral of San Lorenzo.
The reconstruction lasted a few years and in the early Fifties the port was once again fully operational and traffic restarted.
