Bogliasco is situated on the southeastern city limits of Genoa in northern Italy. The capital of the Liguria region and one of the most important cities in Italy, Genoa is a university town with important cultural resources. From Bogliasco, the central part of the city can be reached by bus or train in twenty to thirty minutes. The Genoa international airport, a thirty-minute automobile ride from the Study Center, has connections to and from several European cities. The international airport in Pisa, about ninety minutes from Genoa by train, has even more choices of connections. A complete, modern medical facility, the San Martino Hospital Center, is located fifteen minutes from the Center.
The history of Bogliasco can be traced back to the Roman Empire: a medieval bridge constructed on Roman ruins still spans a rivulet that feeds into the port. Once a village inhabited primarily by fishermen, sailors, and sea captains, Bogliasco frequently allied itself with the Republic of Genoa, but always remained independent of it.
Now a quiet town of five thousand inhabitants, Bogliasco has most of the characteristics of a typical Mediterranean village: a central piazza dominated by the church, a scenic walkway above the sea, a small port filled with fishing boats, and several rocky beach areas.
Bogliasco is hardly a major stopping point on the Italian tourist loop; nonetheless, it has had its share of interesting visitors. In 1905-1906, the Russian composer Alexander Skryabin lived in Bogliasco with his companion Tatyana Schloezer. While there, he completed a large part of one of his major works, Le poème de l'extase. Tatyana described Bogliasco as "a paradise on Earth, with orange trees, cypresses, and cactuses."
