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Genoa
*** Shopping-Tip: Genoa
{{otheruses}}
{{ITdot|Genova}}
Image:it-genoa.gif 120px|left|Flag of Genoa
Image:colombus_genoa.jpg right|thumb|150px|Christopher Columbus monument in Piazza Aquaverde
'''Genoa''' (
Italian language Italian ''Genova'',
Genoese dialect Genoese (
dialects of Italy dialect of
Ligurian) ''Zena'',
French language French ''Gênes'',
German language German ''Genua'',
Spanish language Spanish ''Génova'',
Galician language Galician ''Xénova'') is a
city and a
seaport in northern
Italy, the capital of the
Province of Genoa and of the
region of
Liguria. The city has a population of ca. 601,338, the metropolitan area has a population of ca. 871,733.
''Genua'' was a city of the ancient
Ligures Ligurians. Its name is probably
Ligurian language Ligurian, meaning "knee" (from
Proto-Indo-European language Proto-Indo-European *''genu'' 'knee'), i.e. "angle", from its geographical position, thus akin to the name of
Geneva. Alternatively, the name has been claimed to derive from
Latin (language) Latin ''Janua'' ("gate"), the two-headed god
Janus (mythology) Janus, or an ancient word that means "foreigners", as the early settlers were considered foreign by the neighbouring population.
History
Ancient history
Genoa's history goes back to ancient times. A city cemetery, dating from the 6th and 5th centuries B.C., testifies to the occupation of the site by the
Greeks, but the fine harbor probably was in use much earlier, perhaps by the
Etruscan civilization Etruscans. Destroyed by the
Carthaginians in
209 BC, the town was rebuilt by
Rome, under which the city enjoyed municipal rights and exported skins, wood, and honey. Although remaining faithful to Rome while other
Ligurian and
Celt Celtic peoples of northern Italy stood by
Carthage Carthaginians in the
Second Punic War, its importance as a Roman port city was eclipsed by the rise of ''Vada Sabatia'', near modern
Savona.
After the fall of the
Roman Empire, Genoa was occupied by the
Ostrogoths , then by the
Lombards. For the following several centuries, Genoa was little more than a small, obscure fishing center, slowly building its merchant fleet which was to become the leading commercial carrier of the Mediterranean Sea. The town was sacked and burned in 934 by Arab pirates but this didn't stop for long the city's progress.
Middle Ages & Renaissance
Before
1100, Genoa emerged as an independent
city-state. Nominally, the
Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Emperor was overlord and the
Bishop of Genoa was president of the city; however, actual power was wielded by a number of "consuls" annually elected by popular assembly. Genoa was one of the so-called "Maritime Republics" (''
Repubbliche Marinare''), along with
Venice,
Pisa, and
Amalfi) and trade, shipbuilding and banking helped support one of the largest and most powerful navies in the
Mediterranean. The
Republic of Genoa extended over modern
Liguria and
Piedmont (Italy) Piedmont, Sardinia, Corsica and had practically complete control of the
Tyrrhenian Sea. Through Genoese participation on the
Crusades, colonies were established in the
Middle East Mideast, in the
Aegean Sea Aegean in
Sicily and Northern
Africa. Genoese Crusaders brought home a green glass goblet from the
Levant, which Genoese long regarded as the
Holy Grail.
The collapse of the
Crusader States was offset by Genoa’s alliance with the
Byzantine Empire, which opened opportunities of expansion into the
Black Sea and
Crimea. Internal feuds between the powerful families, the
Grimaldi,
Doria, Spinola, and others caused much disruption, but in general the republic was run much as a business affair. Genoa's political zenith came with its victory over Pisa in 1284, and its persistent rival, Venice, in 1298.
Image:Genova1493.png thumb|250px|View of Genoa around 1490
However, this prosperity did not last. The
Black Death was imported into Europe in 1349 from the Genoese trading post at
Caffa (
Theodosia) in Crimea, on the Black Sea. Following the economic and population collapse, Genoa adopted the Venetian model of government, and was presided over by a
doge (see
Doges of Genoa). The wars with Venice continued, and the
War of Chioggia (
1378-
1381), ended with a victory for Venice. After a period of French domination from 1394-1409, Genoa came under rule by the
Visconti of
Milan. Genoa lost Sardinia to
Aragon, Corsica to internal revolt and its Middle Eastern colonies to the
Ottoman Empire and the Arabs.
Christopher Columbus, probably a native of Genoa, donated one-tenth of his income from the discovery of the
Americas for
Spain to the
Bank of San Giorgio in Genoa for the relief of taxation on foods. The Spanish connection was reinforced by
Andrea Doria, who established a new constitution in 1528, making Genoa a satellite of the Spanish Empire. Under the ensuing economic recovery, many Genoese families amassed tremendous fortunes. At the time of Genoa’s peak in the 16th century, the city attracted many artists, including
Rubens,
Caravaggio, and
Van Dyck. The famed architect
Galeazzo Alessi (1512-1572) designed many of the city’s splendid
palazzo. A number of
Genoese Baroque and Rococo artists settled elsewhere and a number of local artists became prominent.
Genoa suffered from French bombardment in 1684, and was occupied by
Austria in 1746 during the
War of the Austrian Succession. In 1768, Genoa was forced to cede Corsica to France.
Later 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 went into steady decline.
In
1797, under pressure from
Napoleon, Genoa became a French protectorate called the
Ligurian Republic, which was annexed by France in
1805. 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
Piedmont (Italy) Piedmont (
Kingdom of Sardinia), thus ending the three century old struggle by the
House of Savoy to acquire the city. The city soon gained a reputation as a hotbed of anti-Savoy republican agitation, although the union with Savoy was economically very beneficial. With the growth of the
Risorgimento movement, the Genoese turned their struggles from
Giuseppe Mazzini's vision of a local republic into a struggle for a unified
Italy under a liberalized Savoy monarchy. In
1860,
Giuseppe Garibaldi set out from Genoa with over a thousand volunteers to begin the campaign.
Famous Genoese include
Cristoforo Colombo (
Christopher Columbus),
Admiral Andrea Doria, composers
Niccolò Paganini and
Michele Novaro, painter Domenico Piola, Italian patriots
Giuseppe Mazzini and Gerolamo
Nino Bixio, writer and translator Fernanda Pivano, poet Edoardo Sanguineti, communist politician
Palmiro Togliatti, architect
Renzo Piano, Physics 2002 Nobel Prize winner Riccardo Giacconi, Literature 1975 Nobel Prize winner
Eugenio Montale, artist
Vanessa Beecroft, comedians Gilberto Govi and
Paolo Villaggio, folk singers
Fabrizio de André and Ivano Fossati, actor
Vittorio Gassman.
Image:map-of-liguria-map.gif thumb|300px|Map of Liguria showing Genoa
Demographics
The population is quite homogeneously
Italian people Italian. Southern and northern Italians alike have flocked to the city during the late 1900's. An estimated 95.3% of the population is of Italian origin. But there has been a sharp increase of
immigrants mostly from South America, Eastern Europe, and a very meagre number from Asia. [http://demo.istat.it/str2004/index.html]
'''Immigrants by country (2004)'''
*
Ecuadorians - 10,169
*
Albanians - 2,781
*
Moroccans - 2,189
*
Peruvians - 1,795
*
Overseas Chinese Chinese - 910
*
Romanians - 746
Miscellaneous
*The port of Genoa is the first in
Italy. It ranks second in the
Mediterranean after neighbouring
Marseille,
France.
*The
Aquarium of Genoa was the largest in
Europe at the time it was built.
*Other landmarks of the city are the
Palazzo Ducale (Genoa) Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace), St. Lawrence Cathedral (''Cattedrale di San Lorenzo''), The Old Harbor (''Porto Antico''), transformed into a mall by architect
Renzo Piano, Via Garibaldi with its superb palaces and the monumental cemetery on Staglieno's hill.
* The
Museo d'Arte Orientale is one of the largest collections of Oriental art in Europe.
* The
University of Genoa, with 40,000 students (one of the larger universities in Italy) was founded in 1481.
*
Genoa Cricket & Football Club founded in
1893.
*
UC Sampdoria,
football club founded in
1946.
* The
27th G8 summit took place in Genoa in July 2001, resulting in riots and the shooting of a protestor and a violent crackdown by the police.
* For
2004, the
European Union designated Genoa as
European Capital of Culture, along with the French City of
Lille.
* In 1922 the
Genoa Conference was the first economic conference that included a representitative from the newly-communist Soviet Socialist Republics.
* The port of Genoa is home to an ancient
Lighthouse: "La Lanterna" ("the lantern"). It is the oldest working lighthouse in the world, one of the five tallest ones, and the tallest brick one.
See also
*
Genoese dialect
*
Ligurian language (Romance) Ligurian language
External links
Image:Cimitero_staglieno-veduta2-wiki.jpg thumb|right|350px|Staglieno: A monumental cemetery
-
UC Sampdoria football club
-
Genoa Cricket and Football Club
-
Official Site
-
Photos of Genoa
-
explore the town from the center
-
ItalianVisits.com
*
w:it:Cimitero_monumentale_di_Staglieno it.wiki:Cimitero monumentale di Staglieno
-
Bird's eye view map of Genoa
-
Museums guide
-
The official lighthouse website
-
Some pictures of Genoa and surroundings
Category:Genoa
Category:Italian Riviera
Category:World Heritage Sites in Italy
Category:Repubbliche Marinare of Italy
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*** Shopping-Tip: Genoa
