History of Genoa

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
View of the city of Genoa from the belvedere of Castelletto
Part of a series on the
History of Italy
Old map of Italian peninsula
Early
Ancient Rome
Romano-Barbarian Kingdoms
Odoacer's 476–493
Ostrogothic 493–553
Vandal 435–534
Lombard (independence) 565–774
Lombard (under the Frankish rule) 774–885
Frankish (as part of the Carolingian Empire) 885–961
Germanic (as part of the Holy Roman Empire) 961–1801
Medieval
Early modern
Modern
By topic

Timeline

flag Italy portal

Genoa, Italy, has historically been one of the most important ports on the Mediterranean.

Prehistory and antiquity

The Genoa area has been inhabited since the fifth or fourth millennium BC.

Carthaginian Wars ended in 146 BC, it received municipal rights. The original castrum then expanded towards the current areas of Santa Maria di Castello and the San Lorenzo promontory. Trade goods included skins, timber, and honey. Goods were moved to and from Genoa's hinterland, including major cities like Tortona and Piacenza
. An amphitheater was also found there among other archaeological remains from the Roman period.

The Polcevera bronze tablet, evidence of Genoa's Roman and pre-Roman past

The city's modern name may derive from the

Regio IX Liguria
.

After the fall of the

Gregory the Great was closely connected to these bishops in exile, for example involving himself in the election of Deusdedit.[6] The Lombards, under King Rothari, finally captured Genoa and other Ligurian cities in about 643.[7] In 725 the mortal remains of Augustine of Hippo arrived in Genoa. In 773 the Lombard Kingdom was annexed by the Frankish Empire; the first Carolingian count of Genoa was Ademarus, who was given the title praefectus civitatis Genuensis. Ademarus died in Corsica
while fighting against the Saracens. In this period the Roman walls, destroyed by the Lombards, were rebuilt and extended.

For the following several centuries, Genoa was little more than a small centre, slowly building its merchant fleet, which was to become the leading commercial carrier of the

Fatimid fleet under Ya'qub ibn Ishaq al-Tamimi and possibly even abandoned for a few years.[8]

Middle Ages and Renaissance

Main article: Republic of Genoa
Portrait of Christopher Columbus by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio

Before 1100, Genoa emerged as an independent

Bishop of Genoa was head of state; however, actual power was wielded by a number of consuls annually elected by popular assembly. Genoa was one of the states known as Repubbliche Marinare along with Venice, Pisa, and Amalfi. Trade, shipbuilding, and banking helped support one of the largest and most powerful navies in the Mediterranean. There is an old saying that says: Genuensis ergo mercator, or "A Genoese therefore a merchant" but the Genoese were skilled sailors and ferocious warriors in addition (see also the Genoese crossbowmen
).

In 1098, it is said the ashes of

Northern Africa. The cronista, or chronicler, of the Genoese vicissitudes was Caffaro di Rustico da Caschifellone and the hero and military leader was Guglielmo Embriaco called Testadimaglio meaning "mallet head" (see also Siege of Jerusalem (1099)). Genoese Crusaders brought home a green glass goblet from the Levant (see also Holy Chalice), which the Genoese have long regarded as the Holy Grail. In his Golden Legend, the Archbishop of Genoa, Jacobus de Voragine
relates the history of the Holy Grail. Not all of Genoa's merchandise was so innocuous, however, as medieval Genoa became a major player in the slave trade.[9]

The Genoese have a claim to the creation of the rough denim cloth then called "Blue Jean", from which derives the modern name of jeans, used by sailors for work and to cover and protect their goods on the docks from the weather. During the Republic of Genoa, Genoese merchants and sailors exported this cloth throughout Europe. The production of Genoese lace was also notable.

Lanterna
, renaissance lighthouse of Genoa was built in 1543.

The collapse of the

Spinola
and others, caused much disruption, but in general the republic was run much as a business affair.

In 1218–1220 Genoa was served by the

pirate, Henry, Count of Malta. The alliance between Byzantines and Genoese suffered after the Battle of Settepozzi, admirably described in the Annales ianuenses
.

Genoa's political zenith came with its victory over the

Byzantine-Genoese War
.

However, this period of prosperity did not last. The Black Death is said to have been imported into Europe in 1347 from the Genoese trading post at Caffa in Crimea on the Black Sea. Following the economic and population collapse that resulted, Genoa adopted the Venetian model of government and was presided over by the Doge of Genoa. The wars with Venice continued, and the War of Chioggia (1378–1381) – during which Genoa almost managed to decisively subdue Venice – ended with Venice's recovery of dominance in the Adriatic. In 1390, Genoa initiated the Barbary Crusade, with help from the French, and laid siege to Mahdia, the Fatimid capital of Ifriqiya.

Though not well-studied, Genoa in the 15th century seems to have been tumultuous. The city had a strong tradition of trading goods from the Levant and its financial expertise was recognised all over Europe. After a period of French domination from 1394 to 1409, Genoa came under the rule of the

Asia Minor colonies to the Ottoman Empire
.

In the 15th century two of the earliest banks in the world were founded in Genoa: the Bank of Saint George, founded in 1407, which was the oldest chartered bank in the world at its closure in 1805 and the Banca Carige, founded in 1483 as a mount of piety, which still exists.

Genoa was able to stabilise its position as it moved into the 16th century, particularly as a result of the efforts of Doge Andrea Doria, who granted a new constitution in 1528 that made Genoa a satellite of the Spanish Empire (Siege of Coron 1532/34, Battle of Preveza 1538, Battle of Girolata 1540, Battle of Lepanto 1571, Relief of Genoa 1625). Some Genoese enjoyed remarkable careers in the service of the Spanish crown: notably the maritime explorers Juan Bautista Pastene and Leon Pancaldo, the general Ambrogio Spinola, the naval captain Giovanni della Croce Bernardotte and Jorge Burgues. In the period of economic recovery which followed, many aristocratic Genoese families, such as the Balbi, Doria, Grimaldi, Pallavicini and Serra, amassed tremendous fortunes. According to Felipe Fernandez-Armesto and others, the practices Genoa developed in the Mediterranean (such as chattel slavery) were crucial in the exploration and exploitation of the New World.[10]

The Genoese

Antonio de Noli, Antonio Malfante and Antoniotto Usodimare. (It has been suggested that Antoniotto Usodimare and Antonio di Noli may be different names for the same person.) The famous Genoese navigator John Cabot, a contemporary of Columbus, discovered northern parts of North America when sailing under the commission of Henry VII of England
.

During its rise and its apogee, Genoa founded

Cigalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha or Scipione Cicala, member of the aristocratic Genoese family of Cicala, is fascinating: it is said he was caught by the Ottomans in the Battle of Djerba and then he became Kapudan Pasha or Grand Admiral of the Ottoman fleet, (this adventure story is sung by Fabrizio De André
in "Sinàn Capudàn Pascià").

View of Genoa in 1572

At the time of Genoa's zenith in the 16th century, the city attracted many artists including

Genoese School of painting
, went on to earn the largest payment then recorded (2,000 ducats) for work for Philip II of Spain in the Escorial palace in Madrid.

In the 17th century, however, Genoa entered a period of crisis. In May 1625, a French-Savoian army invaded the republic but was

plague killed as many as half of the population.[11] In May 1684, as a punishment for Genoese support for Spain, the city was subjected to a French naval bombardment with some 13,000 cannonballs aimed at the city.[12] Genoa was eventually occupied by Austria in 1746 during the War of the Austrian Succession. This episode in the city's history is mainly remembered for the Genoese revolt, precipitated by a legendary boy named Giovan Battista Perasso and nicknamed Balilla who threw a stone at an Austrian official and became a national hero to later generations of Genoese, and Italians in general (see also Siege of Genoa (1746), Siege of Genoa (1747), and Siege of Genoa (1800)). Unable to retain its rule in Corsica, where the rebel Corsican Republic was proclaimed in 1755, Genoa was forced by the well-supported rebellion to sell its claim to Corsica to the French, under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
of 1768.

Modern history

With the shift in world economy and trade routes to the New World and away from the Mediterranean, Genoa's political and economic power began a steady decline. Its military power collapsed during the

Tolstoy's War and Peace
:

Well, Prince, so Genoa and Lucca are now just family estates of the Buonapartes.(...) And what do you think of this latest comedy, the coronation at Milan, the comedy of the people of Genoa and Lucca laying their petitions [to be annexed to France] before Monsieur Buonaparte, and Monsieur Buonaparte sitting on a throne and granting the petitions of the nations?" (spoken by a thoroughly anti-Bonapartist Russian aristocrat, soon after the news reached Saint Petersburg).

Although the Genoese revolted against France in 1814 and liberated the city on their own, delegates at the Congress of Vienna sanctioned its incorporation into the Kingdom of Sardinia, thus ending the three century old struggle by the House of Savoy to acquire the city.

Garibaldi leading the Expedition of the Thousand

The city soon gained a reputation as a hotbed of anti-Savoy republican agitation. Genoa was the centre of an important reform movement that put constant pressure on Piedmont to grant the freedom of the press and more liberal laws. The citizens of the republic would not accept being subjects of an absolute monarchy, wanting to be Italian rather than Piedmontese, though relations with Piedmont improved with the war against Austria. However, after the defeat in the

Risorgimento, reunification of Italy, movement, the Genoese turned their struggles from Giuseppe Mazzini's vision of a local republic into a struggle for a unified Italy under a liberalised Savoy monarchy. In 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi set out from Genoa with over a thousand volunteers to begin the conquest of Southern Italy among them was Nino Bixio. Today a monument is set on the rock at the point where the patriot embarked, in Quarto dei Mille
.

Genoa in 1810

In the 19th and the early 20th centuries, Genoa consolidated its role as a major seaport and an important steel and shipbuilding centre. In Genoa in 1853,

Registro Italiano Navale Italian register of shipping was created, and in 1879 the Yacht Club Italiano. The owner Raffaele Rubattino in 1881 was among the founders of the ferry company Navigazione Generale Italiana which then become the Italian Line
.

In 1884

Genoa-Pisa
.

In Genoa the following shipyards were established: Cantiere Navale di Sestri Ponente,

Esposizione Internazionale di Marina e di igiene marinara (see the List of world's fairs). The strong industrialisation attracted large masses of workers which is why in 1892 the Italian Socialist Party was founded here by Filippo Turati, Andrea Costa, and Anna Kuliscioff. In 1886 was founded the newspaper Il Secolo XIX and in 1903 the socialist newspaper "Il Lavoro". Palmiro Togliatti
, one of the most influential Italian politicians of the 20th century, was born in Genoa in 1893.

In this period many Genoese emigrated to the Americas (see also Italian diaspora). Among the most interesting experiences of this exodus was the creation of the Buenos Aires district called La Boca, now famous for its colorful houses in the Ligurian style, in addition on 3 April 1905 a group of Genoese boys founded the Boca Juniors football club in Buenos Aires. This is why the fans of Boca Juniors are called "Los Xeneizes", which means the Genoese. In addition, Amadeo Giannini, the son of Genoese immigrants in North America, founded the Bank of America. (See also "Italian Peruvians", "Italian Chileans", "Italian Uruguayans").

During

Piacentini's Tower, Piazza della Vittoria with its Arco della Vittoria, and the Bisagno stream water tunnel. In 1935, the only synagogue built during the fascist period, the Synagogue of Genoa
, was inaugurated.

Genoa also gave rise to numerous industries like the steelworks "S.I.A.C." in

Genoa Conference that was a consequence of the Treaty of Rapallo
.

During the fascist period the city of Genoa was united to nineteen municipalities, creating in 1926 what was known as "Greater Genoa", which stretches along the coast for 35 km (22 miles).

In

area bombing, with six such raids between 22 October and 15 November 1942 and a further one on 8 August 1943.[13] Between late 1943 and the end of the war, both the RAF and the USAAF carried out several more bombing raids aimed at the port facilities, factories and marshalling yards of Genoa. Overall, Genoa suffered over fifty air raids, which caused some 2,000 deaths among the population.[14] 11,183 buildings were destroyed or damaged, including 70 churches and 130 historic palaces, and 75% of the port facilities were destroyed.[15]

The exploits during this period of admiral Luigi Durand de la Penne, especially the Raid on Alexandria, are retold in several films, including The Valiant, The Silent Enemy and Human Torpedoes.

After the

concentration camps in Germany.[16] The city was liberated by the partisans a few days before the arrival of the Allies; 150 partisans were killed and 350 wounded during the fighting for the liberation of the city, which resulted in the capture of 14,000 German prisoners under General Günther Meinhold on 27 April 1945.[15][17]

During World War II, many

Jewish refugees gathered in Genoa because the city was the headquarters of the Delegation for the Assistance of Jewish Emigrants, an organization that coordinated aid and rescue programs. The office in Genoa was headed initially by Lelio Vittorio Valobra, and later Massimo Teglio, who received help from local priests and created a regional rescue network.[18]

The German search for Jews in Genoa began on November 2, 1943, when two police agents visited the offices of the Jewish community and forced the custodians to turn over their membership lists and summon members to a synagogue meeting the next morning. Many Jews had already left the city by that time, but a majority of those who were seized in Genoa were taken at this meeting. A few members who received the summons were able to escape thanks to a warning from Massimo Teglio. Rabbi Riccardo Pacifici, who until the last moment tried to help other Jews, was captured in the Galleria Mazzini in November of that year. He was murdered at Auschwitz.[18]

In the post-war years, Genoa played a pivotal role in the

Mares, and Techisub SpA), ferries (GNV and Home Lines, and the "OSN-Orizzonti Sistemi Navali"), oil production ("IP-Italiana Petroli"), textiles (SLAM), food services ("Elah Dufour" and "Sogegross"), construction ("FISIA-Italimpianti"), and, for a time, nuclear reactors (NIRA, which closed after the Chernobyl disaster
).

Because of population growth, partly due to substantial immigration from other parts of Italy, new neighborhoods have been built. There were years of building speculation and of destruction of two historic districts of the city, the first in 1964 called "Piccapietra-Portoria" and the second in 1974 called "Madre di Dio" location of the house of

Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa
.

In 1991 the MT Haven was shipwrecked off the coast of Genoa, but 1992 marks the rebirth of the city with Genoa Expo '92. Genoa, city home of Christopher Columbus, celebrated the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America. For the occasion, thanks to the intervention of the architect Renzo Piano, the Old Harbour smartened up its face.

The

Carlo Giuliani, being killed by the police. In 2007, 15 officials, including police, prison officials and two doctors, were found guilty by an Italian court of mistreating protesters (2001 Raid on Armando Diaz). Their prison sentences ranged from five months to five years.[19] In 2004, the European Union designated Genoa as the European Capital of Culture, along with the French city of Lille. In 2009 the Genoese actor and political activist Beppe Grillo founded the Five Star Movement. In 2011, Genoa, like other European cities, suffered disastrous flooding. In 2013, 11 deaths resulted from the collapse of the control tower of Genoa's port after being hit by the cargo ship Jolly Nero. In 2014, the sunken wreck from the Costa Concordia
was transported to the port of Genoa to be broken up.

14 August 2018 was a black day for Genoa: the Ponte Morandi bridge collapsed, killing 43 people.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ The objects found during the works for the underground had been exposed in the exhibition Archeologia Metropolitana. Piazza Brignole e Acquasola, held at the Ligurian Archeology Museum (30 November 2009 - 14 February 2010) ([1] Archived December 30, 2013, at the Wayback Machine)
  2. ISBN 8875633363
    .
  3. ^ Marco Milanese, Scavi nell'oppidum preromano di Genova, L'Erma di Bretschneider, Roma 1987 on-line in GoogleBooks; Piera Melli, Una città portuale del Mediterraneo tra il VII e il III secolo a.C., Genova, Fratelli Frilli ed., 2007.
  4. ^ Giulia Petracco Sicardi, "Genova", in Dizionario di toponomastica, Torino, 1990, p. 355. In Cathedral there is an inscription that says Janus, primus Rex Italiae de progenie gigantum, qui fundavit Genuam temporae Abrahae, in English, "Janus, the first King of Italy, progeny of the giants, who founded Genoa in the days of Abraham." Another theory traces the name to the Etruscan word Kainua which means "New City". Piera Melli (Genova Preromana, 2007), based on an inscription on a pottery sherd reading Kainua, suggests that the Latin name may be a corruption of an older Etruscan one with an original meaning of "new town".
  5. ^ Paul the Deacon, Historia Langobardorum, II.25
  6. ^ Gregory I, Registrum Epistolarum, MGH Ep. 2, XI.14, p. 274
  7. ^ Paul the Deacon, Historia Langobardorum, IV.45
  8. ISBN 0-8078-4992-8
    .
  9. JSTOR 10.7591/j.ctv8j5bm
    .
  10. ISBN 978-0-8122-1412-3
    .
  11. ^ Early modern Italy (16th to 18th centuries) » The 17th century crisis Encyclopædia Britannica.
  12. ^ Genoa 1684, World History at KMLA.
  13. ^ Giorgio Bonacina, Comando Bombardieri - Operazione Europa, pp. 49-50.
  14. ^ I bombardamenti sull’Italia nella Seconda Guerra Mondiale
  15. ^ a b Enciclopedia Treccani
  16. ^ L'atto di resa delle truppe tedesche
  17. ^ Basil Davidson, Special Operations Europe: Scenes from the Anti-Nazi War (1980), pp. 340/360
  18. ^ a b "The Jewish Community of Genoa". The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  19. ^ "Italy officials convicted over G8". BBC News. 2008-07-15. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  20. ^ Crollo Genova, trovato l'ultimo disperso sotto le macerie: è l'operaio Mirko. Muore uno dei feriti, le vittime totali sono 43

Bibliography

See also: Timeline of Genoa § Bibliography

Гавриленко О. А., Сівальньов О. М., Цибулькін В. В. Генуезька спадщина на теренах України; етнодержавознавчий вимір. — Харків: Точка, 2017.— 260 с. —

ISBN 978-617-669-209-6

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_Genoa&oldid=1217088134"