History of Genoa
We think that the name Genova (“Genoa”), according to a Roman legend, comes from the Roman god Giano (“Janus”), protector god of all passageways, including the door to one’s home or the gates of a city. That is maybe the reason for the importance that the Genoese placed on the entrances to their homes: every doorway was decorated with a bas-relief, often with a scene depicting Catholic saints.
Genoa’s history goes all the way back to ancient times and an Italic tribe of Ligures but the medieval period was the first great period of the city. In the 11th century, Genoa became an oligarchic Republic, governed by councils chosen from the various aristocratic families of the city. Thanks to the Crusades Genoa expanded its territorial possessions, both in the form of commercial markets and actual colonies, and became a maritime leader (Marittime Republics – Repubbliche Marinare) in the Mediterranean sea.
During those centuries shipbuilding, trade and banking supported one of the largest and most powerful navies in the Mediterranean. The Republic allied with the Byzantine Empire and expanded into the Black Sea and Crimea but the Black Death brought an end to all this when the disease arrived in Europe from the genoese trading post at Caffa (Theodosia) in Crimea in 1349 destroying its economy and killing its population.
Later, the alliance between the Genoese Admiral Andrea Doria and the Spanish Empire of Carlo V, in 1528, gave birth to the Golden Age of Genoa, during which the Genoese enjoyed great success throughout Europe, thanks to huge financial investments. The construction of amazing palazzos and magnificent villas also began during this period.After the discovery of The New World the trade routes shifted and the Mediterranean sea lost its importance. Consequently, Genoa’s political and economic power begun to decline. In 1797, under Napoleon’s pressure, it became a French protectorate and was annexed to France in 1805. It was from Genoa that, later, Garibaldi started his expedition of the Thousand, which would eventually lead to the constitution of the Kingdom of Italy.
Between the 19th and 20th centuries, Genoa experienced great urban development, assuming the role of industrial and port center within the industrial triangle of Genoa, Milan, and Turin. In the 1960’s the population of Genoa doubled in size from the first half of the century. And yet its position as the great industrial city fell into crisis in the 1980’s, when the model of traditional development based on large, state-sponsored industry became less relevant.
Today, Genoa has reassumed its position as one of the most important port cities in the Mediterranean.
