Bar Roma – The Sampdoria Cafe Where Ideas, Lives and Stories Began

More by chance than by design, Italy often resembles an open-air museum when it comes to football.

Turn the corner in the Lingotto neighbourhood of Turin and you will find yourself staring at the ground where the Grande Torino built their legend. Walk down Via Berchet in Milan and the building where AC Milan were founded still stands.

And then there’s Bar Roma in Genoa.

Located in Piazza Vittorio Veneto in the Sampierdarena neighbourhood, this is a must-visit for anyone of a Sampdoria persuasion.

It was here in 1946 that members of Andrea Doria and Sampierdarenese – founded in 1895 and 1899 respectively – met to discuss a merger between their clubs, which led to the formation of Sampdoria on August 12 of the same year.

Their union is reflected in the colours, with Andrea Doria’s blue and Sampierdarenese’s white, red and black combining to form what the stadium announcer at Marassi describes as the “best shirt in football”.

There are scarves, stickers and shirts in Bar Roma, which otherwise looks exactly like countless other local cafes in Italy and reflects the working nature of its area, with Sampierdarena traditionally home to port labourers and factory workers.

Expect to find people stopping for an espresso and a croissant on the way to work or sitting outside with a beer and a spritz in the evening, snacking on their aperitivo or playing a game of pool in the back room.

Yet there is a nice reminder that this is no ordinary bar – a plaque was unveiled in 2021 to mark the 30th anniversary of Sampdoria’s only Scudetto.

“It was summer – at the end of a war, at the dawn of a new hope,” the message reads. “Here, the dreams were born: the ideas, the times, the lives, and the stories of all those who set out on the path of a love, our Love: Unione Calcio Sampdoria 1946.”

The plaque officially recognises the bar’s status in the city’s cultural and sporting heritage, marking it as the place where those ideas, lives, and stories began.

Bar Roma is also the meeting point for Sampdoria ultras groups but if you are a first-time visitor to Genoa do not be put off.

The atmosphere is welcoming and you will find fans milling around from early in the morning on matchdays and the bar is just as busy when Samp play away with supporters getting together to watch games on TV. Be aware, however, that the Marassi is 20 minutes away by car, so plan accordingly if taking in a match.

Sampdoria celebrate their 80th anniversary this August, so if you are planning a trip to Genoa, make sure you squeeze in a stop at Bar Roma.

Address:
Piazza Vittorio Veneto, 26r, 16149 Genova.

Open:
Monday to Friday: 6am to midnight.
Saturday and Sunday: 7am to 1am.