According to legend, the village was founded around the year 1000 by some Spanish fishermen who, caught in a storm, found refuge in this inlet. From the name of their captain (De Odero or Donderos), would derive the surname Dodero, still common in the area today.
The village of Boccadasse has always been an integral part of the territory of San Francesco d'Albaro, from which it depended administratively, both as a municipality and as a parish.
Until the 19th century, San Francesco d'Albaro was a rural municipality, made up of scattered houses, vegetable gardens and stately villas on the hills overlooking the sea: Boccadasse was a small peripheral appendix to it, one of the few compact nuclei in this territory and the only one on the seafront. With Royal Decree no. 1638 of 26 October 1873, six municipalities of the lower Val Bisagno, including San Francesco d'Albaro, were united with the municipality of Genoa. Building expansion in the 20th century profoundly changed the appearance of this area, transforming it into one of Genoa's most elegant residential districts, but at the same time erasing the pre-existing historical fabric. In this context, the borgo of Boccadasse, due to its peripheral position but above all to the will of its inhabitants, has managed to preserve its original urban structure.
Until the 19th century, San Francesco d'Albaro was a rural municipality, made up of scattered houses, vegetable gardens and stately villas on the hills overlooking the sea: Boccadasse was a small peripheral appendix to it, one of the few compact nuclei in this territory and the only one on the seafront. With Royal Decree no. 1638 of 26 October 1873, six municipalities of the lower Val Bisagno, including San Francesco d'Albaro, were united with the municipality of Genoa. Building expansion in the 20th century profoundly changed the appearance of this area, transforming it into one of Genoa's most elegant residential districts, but at the same time erasing the pre-existing historical fabric. In this context, the borgo of Boccadasse, due to its peripheral position but above all to the will of its inhabitants, has managed to preserve its original urban structure.