View source for Republic of Genoa

{{Short description|Italian maritime republic (1099–1797)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox former country
| native_name            = {{native name list|tag1=lij|name1=Repúbrica de Zêna|tag2=it|name2=Repubblica di Genova|tag3=la|name3=Res Publica Ianuensis}}
| conventional_long_name = Republic of Genoa
| common_name            = Genoa
| image_flag             = Flag of Genoa.svg
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of Republic of Genoa.svg
| symbol                 = Maritime republics
| image_map              = Repubblica di Genova.png
| image_map_caption      = The Republic of Genoa and its colonies in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea (shown in purple)
| coordinates            = {{Coord|44|24|27|N|08|56|00|E|region:IT-42_type:country|display=inline,title}}
| government_type        = [[Merchant republic]]
| year_start             = 1099
| year_end               = 1815
| life_span              = {{ubl|1099–1797|26 April 1814 – 7 January 1815}}
| era                    = {{ubl
 |[[Middle Ages]]
 |[[Early modern period]]
 }}
| event_start            = 
| date_start             = 
| event1                 = Participation in the [[First Crusade]]
| date_event1            = 1096–1099
| event2                 = [[Treaty of Nymphaeum (1261)|Treaty of Nymphaeum]]
| date_event2            = 1261
| event3                 = Establishment of the [[Gazaria (Genoese colonies)|Gazaria]]
| date_event3            = 1266
| event5                 = Creation of the [[Doge of Genoa|dogate]]
| date_event5            = 1339
| event6                 = Foundation of the [[Bank of Saint George]]
| date_event6            = 1407
| event7                 = [[Andrea Doria]]'s new constitution
| date_event7            = 1528
| event8                 = [[Ligurian Republic|Disestablished]]
| date_event8            = June 14, 1797
| event9                 = Republic's revival
| date_event9            = 1814
| date_end               = 
| event_end              = 
| p1                     = Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)
| flag_p1                = 
| s1                     = Ligurian Republic{{!}}'''1797:'''<br>Ligurian Republic
| flag_s1                = Flag of Genoa.svg
| s2                     = Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861){{!}}'''1815:'''<br>Kingdom of Sardinia
| flag_s2                = State Flag and War Ensign of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1816-1848).svg
| s3                     = Duchy of Genoa{{!}}∟Duchy of Genoa
| flag_s3                = 
| national_motto         = {{langnf|la|Respublica superiorem non recognoscens|Republic that recognizes [lit. 'recognizing'] no superior|break=yes}}
| capital                = [[Genoa]]
| largest_city           = [[Genoa]]
| official_languages     = {{Plain list|
* [[Ligurian language|Genoese]]
* [[Latin]]
* [[Tuscan language|Tuscan]]{{Efn|[[Corsican language|Corsican]], [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Arabic]] were also spoken in the colonies of the Republic}}
}}
| religion               = [[Roman Catholicism]]
| currency               = {{indented plainlist|
* [[Genoese lira]] (1138–1797) 
* [[Genovino]] (1252–1415)
}}
| title_leader           = [[Doge of Genoa|Doge]]
| leader1                = [[Simone Boccanegra]] (first)
| year_leader1           = 1339–1345
| leader2                = [[Giacomo Maria Brignole]] (last)
| year_leader2           = 1795–1797
| title_deputy           = [[Podestà]]
| deputy1                = [[Manegoldo del Tettuccio]] (first)
| year_deputy1           = 1191–1191
| deputy2                = Filippo della Torre (last)
| year_deputy2           = 1256–1256
| title_representative   = [[Capitano del popolo]]
| representative1        = [[Guglielmo Boccanegra]] (first)
| year_representative1   = 1257–1262
| representative2        = Galeotto Spinola (last)
| year_representative2   = 1335–1339
| demonym                = 
| area_km2               = 
| area_rank              = 
| GDP_PPP                = 
| GDP_PPP_year           = 
| HDI                    = 
| HDI_year               = 
| population_estimate    = 650,000 in the early 17th century<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Preserved |author-link=Preserved Smith |title=The Social Background of the Reformation |year=1920 |pages=19}}</ref>
| legislature            = {{lang|it|[[Great Council and Minor Council of Genoa|Consiglio della Repubblica]]}} <br> (since 1528)
| type_house1            = Upper chamber
| house1                 = [[Great Council and Minor Council of Genoa|Great Council]]
| type_house2            = Lower chamber
| house2                 = [[Great Council and Minor Council of Genoa|Minor Council]]
}}

The '''Republic of Genoa'''<ref>({{langx|lij|Repúbrica de Zêna}} {{IPA|lij|ɾeˈpybɾika de ˈzeːna|}}; {{langx|it|Repubblica di Genova}}; {{langx|la|Res Publica Ianuensis}})</ref> was a medieval and early modern [[Maritime republics|maritime republic]] from the years 1099 to 1797 in [[Liguria]] on the northwestern [[Italy|Italian]] coast. During the [[Late Middle Ages]], it was a major [[commercial power]] in both the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] and [[Black Sea]]. Between the 16th and 17th centuries, it was one of the major financial centres of Europe.

Throughout its history, the Genoese Republic established [[Genoese colonies|numerous colonies]] throughout the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, including [[Corsica]] from 1347 to 1768, [[Monaco]], [[Gazaria (Genoese colonies)|Southern Crimea]] from 1266 to 1475, and the islands of [[Lesbos]] and [[Chios]] from the 14th century to 1462 and 1566, respectively.<ref name=":2" /> With the arrival of the [[early modern period]], the Republic had lost many of its colonies, and shifted its focus to banking. This was successful for Genoa, which remained a hub of [[capitalism]], with highly developed banks and trading companies. 

Genoa was known as ''la Superba'' ("the Superb One"), ''la Dominante'' ("The Dominant One"), ''la Dominante dei mari'' ("the Dominant of the Seas"), and ''la Repubblica dei magnifici'' ("the Republic of the Magnificents"). From the 11th century to 1528, it was officially known as the ''Compagna Communis Ianuensis'' and from 1580 as the ''Serenìscima Repùbrica de Zêna'' ([[Most Serene Republic|Most Serene]] Republic of Genoa). From 1339 until the state's extinction in 1797, the ruler of the republic was the [[Doge of Genoa|doge]], originally elected for life, after 1528 elected for terms of two years; in practice, the republic was an [[oligarchy]] ruled by a small group of [[merchant]] families, from whom the doges were selected.

The [[Genoese navy]] played a fundamental role in the wealth and power of the Republic over the centuries and its importance was recognized throughout Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-07-05 |title=England owes arrears over St George's Cross, claims Genoa mayor |website=The Guardian |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/05/england-owes-arrears-over-st-georges-cross-claims-genoa-mayor |access-date=2021-09-16 |archive-date=2021-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916201014/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/05/england-owes-arrears-over-st-georges-cross-claims-genoa-mayor |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-02-07 |title=Una flotta di galee per la repubblica di Genova |url=https://www.galatamuseodelmare.it/flotta_galee/ |access-date=2021-09-16 |website=Galata Museo del Mare |language=it-IT |archive-date=2021-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916201013/https://www.galatamuseodelmare.it/flotta_galee/ |url-status=live }}</ref> To this day, its legacy as a key factor in the triumph of the Genoese Republic is still recognized, and its coat of arms is depicted in the [[flag of the Italian Navy]]. In 1284, Genoa fought victoriously against the [[Republic of Pisa]] in the [[Battle of Meloria]] for dominance over the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]], and it was an eternal rival of [[Republic of Venice|Venice]] for dominance in the Mediterranean as a whole.

The republic began when [[Genoa]] became a self-governing [[medieval commune|commune]] in the 11th century and ended when it was conquered by the [[French First Republic]] under [[Napoleon]] and replaced with the [[Ligurian Republic]]. The Ligurian Republic was annexed by the [[First French Empire]] in 1805; its restoration was briefly proclaimed in 1814 following the defeat of Napoleon, but it was annexed by the [[Kingdom of Sardinia]] in 1815.

==Name==
From the 11th century to 1528 it was officially known as the ''Compagna Communis Ianuensis'' and from 1580 as the ''Serenìscima Repùbrica de Zêna'' (the [[Most Serene Republic|Most Serene]] Republic of Genoa) or also ''Repubblica di Genova'' ({{langx|la|Res Publica Ianuensis}}, {{langx|lij|Repúbrica de Zêna}}). It was nicknamed by [[Petrarch]] as ''La Superba'', in reference to its glory and impressive landmarks. For over eight centuries the republic was also known as ''la Dominante'' ('The Dominant one'), ''la Dominante dei mari'' ('the Dominant of the Seas'), and ''la Repubblica dei magnifici'' ('the Republic of the Magnificents').<ref>{{Cite web |title=Genova "la Superba": l'origine del soprannome |url=http://www.genovatoday.it/cronaca/genova-superba-origine-soprannome.html |access-date=2020-07-22 |website=GenovaToday |language=it |archive-date=2020-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204110328/https://www.genovatoday.it/cronaca/genova-superba-origine-soprannome.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ruzzenenti |first=Eleonora |date=2018-05-23 |title=Genova, the Superba |url=https://www.itinari.com/genova-the-superba-tl2q |access-date=2021-05-11 |website=itinari |archive-date=2021-05-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512061602/https://www.itinari.com/genova-the-superba-tl2q |url-status=live }}</ref>

==History==

===Background===
After the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]], the city of [[Genoa]] was invaded by Germanic tribes, and, in about 643, Genoa and other Ligurian cities were captured by the [[Lombard Kingdom]] under the King [[Rothari]]. In 773 the Kingdom was annexed by the [[Carolingian Empire|Frankish Empire]]; the first Carolingian count of Genoa was Ademarus, who was given the title ''praefectus civitatis Genuensis''.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Paul the Deacon |title=Historia Langobardorum |publisher=IV.45}}</ref> During this time and in the following century Genoa was little more than a small centre, slowly building its [[merchant fleet]], which was to become the leading commercial carrier of the Western Mediterranean. In 934–35 the town was [[Fatimid sack of Genoa|thoroughly sacked and burned]] by a [[Fatimid fleet]] under [[Ya'qub ibn Ishaq al-Tamimi]].<ref>{{Cite book |author=Steven A. Epstein |title=Genoa and the Genoese, 958–1528 |publisher=The University of North Carolina Press |year=2002 |pages=14}}</ref> This has led to discussion about whether early tenth-century Genoa was "hardly more than a fishing village" or a vibrant trading town worth attacking.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Charles D. Stanton |title=Medieval Maritime Warfare |publisher=Pen and Sword Maritime |year=2015 |pages=112}}</ref>

In the year 958, a diploma granted by [[Berengar II of Italy]] gave full legal freedom to the city of Genoa, guaranteeing the possession of its lands in the form of landed lordships.<ref>{{Cite web |title=RM Strumenti - La città medievale italiana - Testimonianze, 13 |website=www.rm.unina.it |url=http://www.rm.unina.it/didattica/strumenti/fasoli_bocchi/testimonianze/test13.htm |access-date=2020-08-15 |archive-date=2022-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416095249/http://www.rm.unina.it/didattica/strumenti/fasoli_bocchi/testimonianze/test13.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> At the end of the [[11th century]] the municipality adopted a constitution, at a meeting consisting of the city's [[trade association]]s (''compagnie'') and of the lords of the surrounding valleys and coasts. The new city-state was termed a ''Compagna Communis.'' The local organization remained politically and socially significant for centuries. As late as 1382, the members of the Grand Council were classified by both the ''compagnia'' to which they belonged as well as by their political faction ("noble" versus "popular").<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mallone Di Novi |first=Cesare Cattaneo |title=I "Politici" del Medioevo genovese: il Liber Civilitatis del 1528 |year=1987 |pages=184–193 |language=it}}</ref>

===Rise===
[[File:SiegeofAntioch.jpeg|left|thumb|alt=Picture of soldiers holding banners, while besieging a city|The [[Siege of Antioch]], 1098.]]

Before 1100, Genoa emerged as an independent [[city-state]], one of a number of [[Italian city-states]] during this period. 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 "[[Genoan consul|consul]]s" annually elected by [[popular assembly]]. At that time Muslim raiders were attacking coastal cities on the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]]. Muslims raided Pisa in 1000, and in 1015 they escalated their attacks, raiding [[Luni, Italy|Luni]]. [[Mujahid al-Siqlabi]], [[Emir]] of the [[Taifa of Denia]] attacked [[Sardinia]] with a fleet of 125 ships.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kirk |first=Thomas Allison |year=2005 |title=Genoa and the Sea: Policy and Power in an Early Modern Maritime Republic |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |page=8 |isbn=0-8018-8083-1}}</ref> [[Pisan–Genoese expeditions to Sardinia (1015–1016)|In 1016, the allied troops of Genoa and Pisa defended Sardinia]]. In 1066, war erupted between Genoa and Pisa – possibly over control of Sardinia.<ref>Kirk, p. 188</ref>

The republic was one of the so-called "Maritime Republics" (''[[Repubbliche Marinare]]''), along with [[Republic of Venice|Venice]], [[Republic of Pisa|Pisa]], [[Duchy of Amalfi|Amalfi]], [[Duchy of Gaeta|Gaeta]], [[Republic of Ancona|Ancona]], and [[Republic of Ragusa|Ragusa]].<ref name="sea">G. Benvenuti. ''Le Repubbliche Marinare: Amalfi, Pisa, Genova, Venezia.'' Newton & Compton editori, Roma 1989; Armando Lodolini, ''Le repubbliche del mare'', Biblioteca di storia patria, 1967, Roma.</ref>

In the [[Mahdia campaign of 1087]], supported by [[Pope Victor III]], Italian forces led by [[Hugh of Pisa]] attacked the North African [[Zirid dynasty|Zirid]] vassals of the [[Fatimid Caliphate]]. Genoese and Pisan fleets, accompanied by troops from [[Amalfi]], [[Salerno]], and [[Gaeta]], captured the Zirid capital, but could not hold it. The Genoese and Pisan burned the fleet in the city's harbour and withdrew. The destruction of the Arab fleet gave control of the Western Mediterranean to Genoa, Venice, and Pisa. This enabled Western Europe to supply the troops of the [[First Crusade]] of 1096–1099 by sea.<ref name="fuller">{{cite book |author=J. F. Fuller |title=A Military History of the Western World, Volume I |year=1987 |publisher=Da Capo Press |page=408 |isbn=0-306-80304-6}}</ref>

In 1092, Genoa and Pisa, in collaboration with [[Alfonso VI of León and Castile]] attacked the Muslim [[Taifa of Valencia]]. They also unsuccessfully besieged [[Tortosa]] with support from troops of [[Sancho Ramírez]], [[King of Aragon]].<ref name="recon">{{cite book |author=Joseph F. O'Callaghan |title=Reconquest and crusade in medieval Spain |year=2004 |page=35 |publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]] |isbn=0-8122-1889-2}}</ref> 

Genoa started expanding during the [[First Crusade]]. In 1097 [[Hugh of Châteauneuf]], [[Bishop of Grenoble]] and [[William (Bishop of Orange)|William]], [[Bishop of Orange]], went to Genoa and preached in the [[church of San Siro]] in order to gather troops for the [[First Crusade]]. Twelve [[galley]]s, one ship, and 1,200 soldiers from Genoa joined the crusade. The Genoese troops, led by noblemen de Insula and Avvocato, set sail in July 1097.<ref name="genfir">{{cite book |author=Steven A. Epstein |title=Genoa and the Genoese, 958–1528 |pages=28–32 |year=2002 |publisher=[[UNC Press]] |isbn=0-8078-4992-8}}</ref> The Genoese fleet transported and provided naval support to the crusaders, mainly during the [[siege of Antioch]] in 1098, when the Genoese fleet blockaded the city while the troops provided support during the siege.<ref name="genfir"/> In the [[Siege of Jerusalem (1099)|siege of Jerusalem]] in 1099, [[Genoese crossbowmen]] led by [[Guglielmo Embriaco]] acted as support units against the defenders of the city.

After the capture of Antioch on 3 May 1098, Genoa forged an alliance with [[Bohemond of Taranto]], who became the ruler of the [[Principality of Antioch]]. As a result, he granted them a headquarters, the church of San Giovanni, and 30 houses in Antioch. On 6 May 1098, a part of the Genoese army returned to Genoa with the relics of [[Saint John the Baptist]], granted to the Republic of Genoa as part of their reward for providing military support to the First Crusade.<ref name="genfir"/> Many settlements in the Middle East were given to Genoa as well as favourable [[commercial treaties]].<ref name="genfir"/>

Genoa later allied with King [[Baldwin I of Jerusalem]] (reigned 1100–1118). To secure the alliance, Baldwin gave Genoa one-third of the [[Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem#Lordship of Arsuf|Lordship of Arsuf]], one-third of [[Caesarea Maritima|Caesarea]], and one-third of [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] and its port's income.<ref name="genfir"/> Additionally the Republic of Genoa would receive 300 [[bezant]]s every year, and one-third of Baldwin's conquest every time 50 or more Genoese soldiers joined his troops.<ref name="genfir"/>

The Republic's role as a maritime power in the region secured many favourable commercial treaties for Genoese merchants. They came to control a large portion of the trade of the [[Byzantine Empire]], [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] (Libya), the [[Principality of Antioch]], [[Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia|Cilician Armenia]], and Egypt.<ref name="genfir"/> Although Genoa maintained free-trading rights in Egypt and Syria, it lost some of its territorial possessions after Saladin's campaigns in those areas in the late 12th century.<ref name="vas">{{cite book |author=Alexander A. Vasiliev |author-link=Alexander Vasiliev (historian) |title=History of the Byzantine Empire, 324–1453 |year=1958 |pages=537–538] |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |isbn=0-299-80926-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofbyzanti0000vasi/page/537}}</ref><ref name="anra">{{cite book |author=Robert H. Bates |title=Analytic Narratives |url=https://archive.org/details/analyticnarrativ00bate_852 |url-access=limited |year=1998 |publisher=Princeton University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/analyticnarrativ00bate_852/page/n19 27] |isbn=0-691-00129-4}}</ref>

In 1147, Genoa took part in the Siege of [[Almería]], helping [[Alfonso VII of León and Castile]] reconquer that city from the Muslims. After the conquest the republic leased out its third of the city to one of its own citizens, [[Otto de Bonvillano]], who swore fealty to the republic and promised to guard the city with three hundred men at all times.<ref>John Bryan Williams, "The Making of a Crusade: The Genoese Anti-Muslim Attacks in Spain, 1146–1148". ''[[Journal of Medieval History]]'' '''23''' 1 (1997): 29–53.</ref> This demonstrates how Genoa's early efforts at expanding her influence involved [[Feoffment|enfeoffing]] private citizens to the commune and controlling overseas territories indirectly, rather than through the republican administration. In 1148, it joined the [[Siege of Tortosa (1148)|Siege of Tortosa]] and helped Count [[Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona]] take that city, for which it also received a third.

Over the course of the 11th and particularly the 12th centuries, Genoa became the dominant naval force in the Western Mediterranean, as its erstwhile rivals Pisa and Amalfi declined in importance. Genoa (along with Venice) succeeded in gaining a central position in the Mediterranean slave trade at this time. This left the Republic with only one major rival in the Mediterranean: Venice. The [[Genoese slave trade]] and the [[Venetian slave trade]] were the main players of the slave trade in the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages. 

Genoese Crusaders brought home a green glass goblet from the [[Levant]], which Genoese long regarded as the [[Holy Grail]]. Not all of Genoa's merchandise was so innocuous, however, as medieval Genoa became a major player in [[Black Sea slave trade|the slave trade]].<ref>Steven A. Epstein, ''Speaking of Slavery: Color, Ethnicity, and Human Bondage in Italy (Conjunctions of Religion and Power in the Medieval Past''.</ref>

===13th and 14th centuries===
[[File:Istanbul Galata (54527446009).jpg|thumb|[[Galata Tower]] (1348) in [[Galata]], [[Istanbul]].]]

The commercial and cultural rivalry between Genoa and Venice played out throughout the thirteenth century. The [[Republic of Venice]] played a significant role in the [[Fourth Crusade]], diverting "Latin" energies to the ruin of its former patron and present trading rival, [[Constantinople]]. As a result, Venetian support of the newly established [[Latin Empire]] meant that Venetian trading rights were enforced, and Venice gained control of a large portion of the commerce of the eastern Mediterranean.<ref name="vas"/>

In order to regain control of the [[commerce]], the Republic of Genoa allied with [[Michael VIII Palaiologos]], emperor of [[Empire of Nicaea|Nicaea]], who wanted to restore the Byzantine Empire by recapturing [[Constantinople]]. In March 1261 the [[Treaty of Nymphaeum (1261)|treaty of the alliance]] was signed in [[Kemalpaşa|Nymphaeum]].<ref name="vas"/> On 25 July 1261, Nicaean troops under Alexios Strategopoulos [[Reconquest of Constantinople|recaptured]] Constantinople.<ref name="vas"/>

As a result, the balance of favour tipped toward Genoa, which was granted free trade rights in the Nicene Empire. Besides the control of commerce in the hands of Genoese merchants, Genoa received ports and way stations in many islands and settlements in the [[Aegean Sea]].<ref name="vas"/> The islands of [[Chios]] and [[Lesbos]] became commercial stations of Genoa as well as the city of [[Smyrna]] (İzmir).

[[File:Repubblica di Genova.png|upright=1.35|thumb|left|Territories of the Republic of Genoa (economic influence areas shown in pink) around the mediterranean & Black Sea coasts, 1400, since the ''Codex Latinus Parisinus'' (1395).]]
Genoa and Pisa became the only states with trading rights in the [[Black Sea]].<ref name="vas"/> In the same century the Republic conquered many settlements in [[Crimea]], where the Genoese colony of [[Feodosiya|Caffa]] was established. The alliance with the restored Byzantine Empire increased the wealth and power of Genoa and simultaneously decreased Venetian and Pisan commerce. The [[Byzantine Empire]] had granted the majority of free trading rights to Genoa. In 1282 [[Republic of Pisa|Pisa]] tried to gain control of the commerce and administration of [[Corsica]], after being called for support by the judge Sinucello who revolted against Genoa.<ref name="navwa">{{cite book |author=William Ledyard Rodgers |title=Naval warfare under oars, 4th to 16th centuries: a study of strategy, tactics and ship design |year=1967 |pages=132–34 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=0-87021-487-X}}</ref> In August 1282, part of the Genoese fleet blockaded Pisan commerce near the river [[Arno]].<ref name="navwa"/> During 1283 both Genoa and Pisa made war preparations. Genoa built 120 galleys, 60 of which belonged to the Republic, while the other 60 galleys were rented to individuals. More than 15,000 mercenaries were hired as rowmen and soldiers. The Pisan fleet avoided combat, and tried to wear out the Genoese fleet during 1283. On 5 August 1284, in the naval [[Battle of Meloria]] the Genoese fleet, consisting of 93 ships led by [[Oberto Doria]] and [[Benedetto I Zaccaria]], defeated the Pisan fleet, which consisted of 72 ships and was led by [[Albertino Morosini]] and [[Ugolino della Gherardesca]]. Genoa captured 30 Pisan ships and sank seven.<ref name="navwa"/> About 8,000 Pisans were killed during the battle, more than half of the Pisan troops, which were about 14,000.<ref name="navwa"/> The defeat of Pisa, which never fully recovered as a maritime competitor, resulted in gain of control of the commerce of Corsica by Genoa. The Sardinian town of [[Sassari]], which was under Pisan control, became a [[Medieval commune|commune]] or self-styled [[Republic of Sassari|"free municipality"]] which was controlled by Genoa. Control of Sardinia, however, did not pass permanently to Genoa: the Aragonese kings of Naples disputed control and did not secure it until the fifteenth century.

[[File:Genoese fortress in Sudak.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The [[Genoese fortress, Sudak|Genoese fortress]] in [[Sudak]], [[Crimea]].]]
Genoese merchants pressed south, to the island of Sicily, and into Muslim North Africas, where Genoese established trading posts, pursuing the gold that travelled up through the Sahara and establishing Atlantic depots as far afield as [[Salé]] and [[Safi, Morocco|Safi]].<ref>H. Hearder and D.P. Waley, eds, ''A Short History of Italy'' (Cambridge University Press) 1963:68.</ref> In 1283 the population of the [[Kingdom of Sicily]] revolted against the [[Capetian House of Anjou|Angevin]] rule. The revolt became known as the [[Sicilian Vespers]]. As a result, the [[Crown of Aragon|Aragonese]] rule was established in the Kingdom. Genoa, which had supported the Aragonese, was granted free trading and export rights in the Kingdom of Sicily. Genoese bankers also profited from loans to the new nobility of Sicily. Corsica was formally annexed in 1347.<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica, 1910, Vol. 7, p. 201.</ref>

Genoa was far more than a depot of drugs and spices from the East: an essential engine of its economy was the weaving of silk textiles, from imported thread, following the symmetrical styles of [[Byzantine silk|Byzantine]] and Sassanian silks.

As a result of the economic retrenchment in Europe in the late fourteenth century, as well as its long [[Venetian-Genoese War|war with Venice]], which culminated in its [[War of Chioggia|defeat at Chioggia]] (1380), Genoa went into decline. This pivotal war with Venice has come to be called the War of Chioggia because of this decisive battle which resulted in the defeat of Genoa at the hands of Venice.<ref>John Julius Norwich, ''History of Venice'' (Alfred A. Knopf Co.: New York, 1982) p. 256.</ref> Prior to the War of Chioggia, which lasted from 1379 until 1381, the Genoese had enjoyed a naval ascendency that was the source of their power and position within northern Italy.<ref name=Lucas42>{{cite book |last=Lucas |first=Henry S. |year=1960 |title=The Renaissance and the Reformation |url=https://archive.org/details/renaissancerefor00luca |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Harper & Bros |page=[https://archive.org/details/renaissancerefor00luca/page/42 42]}}</ref> The Genoan defeat deprived Genoa of this naval supremacy, pushed it out of eastern Mediterranean markets and began the decline of the city-state.<ref name=Lucas42/> Rising [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] power also cut into the Genoese emporia in the Aegean, and the Black Sea trade was reduced.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Durant |first1=Will |last2=Durant |first2=Ariel |year=1953 |title=The Story of Civilization |volume=5 – The Renaissance |location=New York |publisher=Simon and Schuster |page=189}}</ref>

In 1396, in order to protect the republic from internal unrest and the provocations of the [[Louis I, Duke of Orléans|Duke of Orléans]] and the [[Gian Galeazzo Visconti|former Duke of Milan]], the Doge of Genoa [[Antoniotto I Adorno|Antoniotto Adorno]] made [[Charles VI of France]] the ''difensor del comune'' ("defender of the municipality") of Genoa. Though the republic had previously been under partial foreign control, this marked the first time Genoa was dominated by a foreign power.<ref name=kirk>{{cite book |last=Kirk |first=Thomas Allison |year=2005 |title=Genoa and the Sea: Policy and Power in an Early Modern Maritime Republic |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |page=26 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vUh5uRJBDJQC&pg=PT26 |isbn=0-8018-8083-1 |access-date=2018-11-30 |archive-date=2020-02-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211165521/https://books.google.com/books?id=vUh5uRJBDJQC&pg=PT26 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Golden age of Genoese bankers===
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 brief period of French domination from 1394 to 1409, Genoa came under the rule of the [[Visconti of Milan]]. Genoa lost [[Sardinia]] to the [[Crown of Aragon]], [[Corsica]] to internal revolt, and its colonies in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Asia Minor to the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref name=kirk/>

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 state deposit bank in the world at its closure in 1805, and the [[mount of piety]] of [[Genoa]] was founded in 1483 and it still exists.<ref>{{cite web |title=Monte di pietà genova |url=https://affide.it |website=affide.it/c/genova-94/ |publisher=Affide |access-date=21 January 2025}}</ref>

[[File:Italy in 1499.png|thumb|upright=1.35|left|Map showing the political divisions of Italy in 1499]]
Threatened by [[Alfonso V of Aragon]], the Doge of Genoa in 1458 handed the Republic over to the French, making it the Duchy of Genoa under the control of [[John II, Duke of Lorraine|John of Anjou]], a French royal governor. However, with support from Milan, Genoa revolted and the Republic was restored in 1461. The Milanese then changed sides, conquering Genoa in 1464 and holding it as a fief of the French crown.<ref>Vincent Ilardi, ''The Italian League and Francesco Sforza – A Study in Diplomacy, 1450–1466'' (Doctoral dissertation – unpublished: Harvard University, 1957) pp. 151–153, 161–62, 495–498, 500–505, 510–512.</ref><ref>Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (Pope Pius II), ''The Commentaries of Pius II'', eds. Florence Alden Gragg, trans., and Leona C. Gabel (13 books; Smith College: Northampton, Massachusetts, 1936–37, 1939–40, 1947, 1951, 1957) pp. 369–70.</ref>{{volume needed|issue=no|date=May 2025}}<ref>Vincent Ilardi and Paul M. Kendall, eds. (1981), ''Dispatches of Milanese Ambassadors, 1450–1483''. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press. vol. III, p. xxxvii.</ref> Between 1463–1478 and 1488–1499,{{clarify inline|reason=So between 1463 and 1499? Or between 1478 and 1488?|date=May 2025}} Genoa was held by the Milanese [[House of Sforza]].<ref name="kirk" /> From 1499 to 1528, the Republic reached its nadir, being under nearly continual French occupation. The Spanish, with their intramural allies, the "old nobility" entrenched in the mountain fastnesses behind Genoa, captured the city on May 30, 1522, and subjected the city to a pillage. When the admiral [[Andrea Doria]] of the powerful [[Doria (family)|Doria]] family allied with the [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Charles V]] to oust the French and restore Genoa's independence, a renewed prospect opened: 1528 marks the first loan from Genoese banks to Charles.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/biography/Andrea-Doria-Genoese-statesman |title=Andrea Doria {{!}} Genovese statesman |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=2016-04-22 |archive-date=2016-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160517223700/http://www.britannica.com/biography/Andrea-Doria-Genoese-statesman |url-status=live }}</ref>

Under the ensuing economic recovery, many aristocratic Genoese families, such as the Balbi, Doria, Grimaldi, Pallavicini, and Serra, amassed tremendous fortunes. According to [[Felipe Fernández-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.<ref>Felipe Fernández-Armesto. ''Before Columbus: Exploration and Colonization from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, 1229–1492''.</ref>{{fcn|date=May 2025}}

At the time of Genoa's peak in the 16th century, the city attracted many artists, including [[Peter Paul Rubens|Rubens]], [[Caravaggio]], and [[Anthony van Dyck|van Dyck]]. The architect [[Galeazzo Alessi]] (1512–1572) designed many of the city's splendid [[palazzo|palazzi]]. In the next 50 years, other palazzi were designed by [[Bartolomeo Bianco]] (1590–1657), designer of centrepieces of the [[University of Genoa]]. A number of [[Genoese Baroque and Rococo artists]] settled elsewhere and a number of local artists became prominent.

[[File:Genova 1481 (copy 1597).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A view of Genoa and its fleet by Christoforo de Grassi (1597 copy, after a drawing of 1481); Galata Museo del Mare, Genoa]]
Thereafter, Genoa underwent something of a revival as a junior associate of the [[Spanish Empire]], with Genoese bankers, in particular, financing many of the Spanish crown's foreign endeavors from their [[counting house]]s in Seville. [[Fernand Braudel]] has even called the period 1557 to 1627 the "age of the Genoese", "of a rule that was so discreet and sophisticated that historians for a long time failed to notice it".<ref>{{cite book |last = Braudel |first = Fernand |date = 1984 |title = The Perspective of the World |series = Civilization and capitalism |volume = 3 |translator-last1 = Reynolds|translator-first1 = Siân |publisher = Harper & Row|location = New York |page = 157|isbn = 9780006860792}}</ref> However, the modern visitor passing brilliant Mannerist and Baroque palazzo facades along Genoa's {{lang|it|Strada Nova}} (now Via Garibaldi) or {{lang|it|via Balbi}} cannot fail to notice that there was conspicuous wealth, which in fact was not Genoese but concentrated in the hands of a tightly knit circle of banker-financiers, true "[[venture capital]]ists". Genoa's trade, however, remained closely dependent on control of Mediterranean sealanes, and the loss of [[Chios]] to the [[Ottoman Empire]] (1566), struck a severe blow.<ref>Philip P. Argenti, ''Chius Vincta or the Occupation of Chios by the Turks (1566) and Their Administration of the Island (1566–1912), Described in Contemporary Diplomatic Reports and Official Dispatches'' (Cambridge, 1941), Part I.</ref>

The opening for the Genoese banking consortium was the [[National bankruptcy|state bankruptcy]] of [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] in 1557, which threw the German banking houses into chaos and ended the reign of the [[Fugger]]s as Spanish financiers. The Genoese bankers provided the unwieldy Habsburg system with fluid credit and a dependably regular income. In return the less dependable shipments of American silver were rapidly transferred from Seville to Genoa, to provide capital for further ventures.

From about 1520 the Genoese controlled the Spanish [[Panamá Viejo|port of Panama]], the first port on the Pacific, founded by the conquest of the Americas. The Genoese obtained a concession to exploit the port mainly for the slave trade of the new world on the Pacific, which lasted until the sacking and destruction of the original city in 1671.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=I Genovesi d'Oltremare i primi coloni moderni |url=http://www.giustiniani.info/oltremare.html |access-date=2020-08-05 |website=www.giustiniani.info |archive-date=2020-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223140429/http://www.giustiniani.info/oltremare.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=15. Casa de los Genoveses - Patronato Panamá Viejo |url=http://www.patronatopanamaviejo.org/ppv2014/es/el-sitio-arqueologico/los-monumentos/mapa-de-monumentos/15-casa-de-los-genoveses |access-date=2020-08-05 |website=Patronato Panamá Viejo |archive-date=2017-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911025455/http://www.patronatopanamaviejo.org/ppv2014/es/el-sitio-arqueologico/los-monumentos/mapa-de-monumentos/15-casa-de-los-genoveses }}</ref>

In 1635, Don [[Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera]], who had been governor of Panama, recruited Genoese, Peruvian, and Panamanian soldiers to fight in the [[Philippines]], where he had been appointed governor, against the Muslim Sultanates of [[Sultanate of Sulu|Sulu]] and [[Sultanate of Maguindanao|Maguindanao]].<ref>[http://www.zamboanga.com/html/history_1634_moro_attacks.htm "Second Book of the Second Part of the Chronicle of the Religious of our Father, St. Augustine"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508103044/https://www.zamboanga.com/html/history_1634_moro_attacks.htm |date=8 May 2021 }}. ''Zamboanga City History''. "He [Governor Don Sebastían Hurtado de Corcuera] brought a great reinforcements of soldiers, many of them from Perú, as he made his voyage to Acapulco from that kingdom."</ref> In this situation Genoese bankers were thus active in Spain's Mediterranean and New World possessions (Peru, Mexico, and Philippines).<ref>Dauverd, Céline (2015). [https://books.google.com/books?id=grlUBAAAQBAJ&q=Philippines ''Imperial Ambition in the Early Modern Mediterranean: Genoese Merchants and the Spanish Crown'']. Cambridge University Press. Chapter 2, Page 68.</ref>

The Genoese banker [[Ambrogio Spinola]], Marquess of Los Balbases, for instance, raised and led an army that fought in the [[Eighty Years' War]] in the Netherlands in the early 17th century. The decline of Spain in the 17th century brought also the renewed decline of Genoa, and the Spanish crown's frequent bankruptcies, in particular, ruined many of Genoa's merchant houses. In 1684 the city was [[Bombardment of Genoa|heavily bombarded by a French fleet]] as punishment for its alliance with Spain.{{cn|date=October 2025}}

===Decline===
In May 1625, a French-Savoian army briefly laid siege to Genoa. Though it was eventually [[Relief of Genoa|lifted with the aid of the Spanish]], the French would later [[Bombardment of Genoa|bombard the city]] in May 1684 for its support of Spain during the [[War of the Reunions]].<ref>[http://www.zum.de/whkmla/military/17cen/genoa1684.html ''Genoa 1684''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917171956/http://www.zum.de/whkmla/military/17cen/genoa1684.html |date=2013-09-17 }}, World History at KMLA.</ref> In-between, a [[Naples Plague|plague]] killed as many as half of the inhabitants of Genoa in 1656–57.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297474/Italy/27687/Early-modern-Italy-16th-to-18th-centuries Early modern Italy (16th to 18th centuries) » The 17th-century crisis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008154336/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297474/Italy/27687/Early-modern-Italy-16th-to-18th-centuries |date=2014-10-08 }} ''Encyclopædia Britannica.''</ref> Genoa continued its slow decline well into the 18th century, losing its last [[Mediterranean]] colony, the island fortress of [[Tabarka]], to the [[Bey of Tunis]] in 1742.<ref>Alberti Russell, Janice. ''The Italian community in Tunisia, 1861–1961: a viable minority''. p. 142.</ref>
[[File:Genova_-_Mappa_antica.jpg|left|thumb|Ancient map of Genoa as it was inside the "old walls"; attributed to Francesco Maria Accinelli (1700–1777)]]
In a climate of constant economic and power decline, in 1729 the Republic had to face another revolt in Corsica. It is considered the first moment of real rupture between the island and the Genoese Republic: perhaps the most important, because the representatives of the [[Catholic Church|Church]] in full harmony with the [[Roman Curia]], "justified" the war.<ref>{{Cite web |title=I testi polemici della Rivoluzione Corsa: dalla giustificazione al disinganno |url=https://www.lettere.uniroma1.it/sites/default/files/868/14.%20I%20TESTI%20POLEMICI%20DELLA%20RIVOLUZIONE%20CORSA.%20GIUSTIFICAZIONE%20E%20DISINGANNO%20F.%20Dal%20Passo.pdf |url-status=live |language=it |access-date=2021-06-16 |archive-date=2021-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624195307/https://www.lettere.uniroma1.it/sites/default/files/868/14.%20I%20TESTI%20POLEMICI%20DELLA%20RIVOLUZIONE%20CORSA.%20GIUSTIFICAZIONE%20E%20DISINGANNO%20F.%20Dal%20Passo.pdf }}</ref> This time the Genoese government requested the help of [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles VI]], who sent 10,000 German infantry of the [[Imperial Army (Holy Roman Empire)|Imperial Army]], after the payment by Genoa of 60,000 [[florin|florins]] and 100 [[Italian scudo|scudi]] for each dead soldier, joining the Republic's soldiers commanded by Camillo Doria. Genoa managed to contain the rebellion, however this did not prove lasting.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Storia Veridica Della Corsica  |website=adecec.net |url=https://adecec.net/parutions/storia-veridica-della-corsica.html |access-date=2021-06-16 |archive-date=2021-06-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621133615/https://adecec.net/parutions/storia-veridica-della-corsica.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pomponi |first=Francis |date=1972 |title=Émeutes populaires en Corse: aux origines de l'insurrection contre la domination génoise (Décembre 1729 – Juillet 1731) |journal=Annales du Midi |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/anami_0003-4398_1972_num_84_107_5574 |volume=84 |issue=107 |pages=151–181 |doi=10.3406/anami.1972.5574 |access-date=2021-06-16 |archive-date=2021-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624203640/https://www.persee.fr/doc/anami_0003-4398_1972_num_84_107_5574 |url-status=live }}</ref> Another revolt broke out in 1733, causing the Genoese to again appeal to the Emperor, but the Imperial Army was tied up against the French in the ongoing [[War of the Polish Succession]], and thus declined to intervene. Even before the rebellions, Genoa's control of the island had been loose; the Republic had effectively demilitarized itself, with only 2,000 soldiers (all spread throughout fortifications in Liguria) for a mainland population of about half a million, and law and order on Corsica were very weak, with nearly 900 homicides per 100,000 people there annually from 1701 to 1733. The Genoese government tried to ban private firearm ownership on Corsica without success. A guerrilla war would continue on the island until it was sold to France in 1768.<ref>{{cite book |first=Gregory |last=Hanlon |title=The Twilight of a Military Tradition: Italian Aristocrats And European Conflicts, 1560–1800 |publisher=Routledge |date=1997 |pages=317–318}}</ref>

[[File:Battle of Bassignana 1745.tiff|thumb|upright=1.35|Genoese soldiers during the [[War of the Austrian Succession]]]]
The [[Convention of Turin]] of 1742, in which [[Austria]] allied with the [[Kingdom of Sardinia]], caused some consternation in the Republic. However, when this provisional relationship was given a more durable and reliable character in the signing of the [[Treaty of Worms (1743)|Treaty of Worms]], in 1743, the fear of diplomatic isolation had caused the Genoese Republic to abandon its neutrality and to ally with the [[House of Bourbon]] in the [[War of the Austrian Succession]]. Consequently, the Republic of Genoa signed a secret treaty with the Bourbon allies of [[Kingdom of France]], [[Spanish Empire]] and [[Kingdom of Naples]]. On 26 June 1745, the Republic of Genoa declared war on the Kingdom of Sardinia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=S. Browning |first=Reed |title=War of the Austrian Succession |publisher=Griffin |page=205}}</ref> This decision would prove disastrous for Genoa, which later surrendered to the Austrians in September 1746 and was briefly occupied before a revolt liberated the city two months later. The Austrians returned in 1747 and, along with a contingent of Sardinian forces, [[Siege of Genoa (1747)|laid siege to Genoa]] before being driven off by the approach of a Franco-Spanish army.

Though Genoa retained its lands in the [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)|Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle]], it was unable to keep its hold on [[Corsica]] in its weakened state. After driving out the Genoese, the [[Corsican Republic]] was declared in 1755. Eventually relying on French intervention to quash the rebellion, Genoa was forced to cede Corsica to the French in the 1768 [[Treaty of Versailles (1768)|Treaty of Versailles]].{{cn|date=October 2025}}

===The end of the Republic and its brief revival of 1814===
In 1794 and 1795 the revolutionary echoes from France reached Genoa, thanks to Genoese exile propagandists sheltered nearby in southeastern France, and a conspiracy against the aristocratic and oligarchic ruling class developed. In 1796, the French army under [[Napoleon]] [[Campaigns of 1796 in the French Revolutionary Wars|defeated Austria and Piedmont]], gaining control of the region. In May 1797, Genoese [[Jacobin]]s, aided by French volunteers, moved to overthrow Doge [[Giacomo Maria Brignole]], giving rise to a fratricidal war in the streets between opponents and supporters of the government.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Benvenuti |first=Gino |title=Storia della Repubblica di Genova |publisher=Ugo Mursia Editore |pages=40–120 |language=it}}</ref>

Napoleon's representatives then intervened. In early June, the old elites who had ruled Genoa for all of its history were overthrown. On June 14, 1797, the [[Ligurian Republic]] was proclaimed, under the watchful care of [[French First Republic|Republican France]]. After Bonaparte's seizure of power in France, a more conservative constitution was enacted, but the Ligurian Republic's life was short: in 1805 it was annexed by France, becoming the ''[[département in France|départements]]'' of [[Apennins]], [[Gênes]], and [[Montenotte (department)|Montenotte]].<ref name=":0" />

With the fall of Napoleon, Genoa regained an ephemeral independence, as the ''Repubblica genovese'', which lasted less than a year. However, the subsequent [[Congress of Vienna]] decreed the annexation of all Genoese territories (all of Liguria, the Oltregiogo area, and the island of [[Capraia]]) by the [[Kingdom of Sardinia]], ruled by the [[House of Savoy]], even though contravening the principle of restoring legitimate governments and monarchies.<ref name="sea" />

==Government==
[[File:Genova-Palazzo Ducale da Piazza Matteotti.jpg|thumb|The Palace of the Doges view from ''Piazza Matteotti''.]]
{{republicanism sidebar}}

The history of Genoa, of the Genoese and of the republic that held its fate for a long time, but also of the governments that gradually took turns leading the city, to reach the time of the Doges, is traceable through the work of historians who have continued the storytelling work begun at the end of the 11th century by [[Caffaro Di Caschifellone]] (historian and himself municipal consul) with the "[[Annales ianuenses]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Donaver |first=Federico |title=Storia di Genova |publisher=Nuova Editrice Genovese |pages=15 |language=it}}</ref>

The Republic of Genoa's governance history is divided into five stages:

* [[Genoese Consul|Consul]]: 11th century – 1191
* [[Podestà]]: 1191–1256
* [[Capitano del popolo]]: 1257–1339
* [[Doge of Genoa|Doge]] (elected for life): 1339–1528
* Doge (elected for terms of two years): 1528–1797

The republic was substantially democratic in shape, while those of the Podestàs and the Captains of the people strongly restored the often conflicting relationship between the authority and the freedom. The perpetual doges, on the other hand, proclaimed themselves popular, even though sometimes crossing the oligarchy; finally the fifth republic was institutionally aristocratic. By custom, prelates in Genoa were unable to take on public office.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Donaver |first=Federico |title=La Storia Della Republica dI Genova |publisher=Libreria Editrice Moderna |pages=77 |language=it}}</ref>

==Aristocratic families==
[[File:Coat of arms of the Fregoso Family.svg|thumb|Coat of arms of the Fregoso family, one of the most influential dynasties in the history of the republic.|180x180px]]

In the first two centuries from the institution of the Dogate for life in Genoa, it was above all the [[Adorno family|Adorno]] (seven doges elected) and [[Fregoso]] (ten doges elected) families who fought the position.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Battilana |first=Natale |title=Genealogie delle famiglie nobili di Genova |publisher=Forni |language=it}}</ref>

After the reform of 1528, among the seventy-nine "biennial Doges" who came to power, many were elected from a small number of noble houses in the city organized into 28 "[[Albergo (family)|Alberghi]]", in particular:

* [[House of Grimaldi|Grimaldi]]: eleven doges.
* [[House of Spinola|Spinola]]: eleven doges.
* [[Durazzo family|Durazzo]]: eight doges.
* De Franchi, Giustiniani and Lomellini families: seven doges each.
* Centurione: six doges.
* [[Doria (family)|Doria]]: six doges.
* [[Cattaneo family|Cattaneo]]: five doges.
* Gentile: five doges.
* Brignole: four doges.
* [[Imperiali family|Imperiali]]: four doges.
* De Mari, Invrea and Negrone families: four doges each.
* [[Pallavicini family|Pallavicini]]: three doges.
* Sauli: three doges.
* Balbi, Cambiaso, Chiavari, Lercari, Pinelli, Promontorio, Veneroso, Viale and Zoagli families: two doges each.
* [[Della Torre]]: two doges.
* Assereto, Ayroli, Canevaro, Chiavica Cibo, Clavarezza, Da Passano, De Ferrari, De Fornari, De Marini, Di Negro, Ferreti, Franzoni, Frugoni, Garbarino, Giudice Calvi, Odone, Saluzzo, Senarega, Vacca and Vivaldi: one doge each
* [[Della Rovere]]: one doge.

Other influential families of the Republic of Genoa were:

* [[Fieschi family|Fieschi]]: counts of [[Lavagna]], and produced two Popes: [[Pope Innocent IV]] and [[Pope Adrian V]]
* [[Gattilusi]]: lords of numerous lands in the [[Aegean Sea]], such as [[Lemnos]], [[Lesbos]], [[Enez]] and [[Samothrace]].<ref name=":1" />
* [[Embriaco family|Embriaco]]: [[Byblos|Lords of Gibelet]] for almost 200 years, and important players in the history of the [[Crusader states]].
* [[Zaccaria]]: rulers of several polities in [[Frankokratia|Latin-ruled Greece]], including the [[Lordship of Chios]] and lastly, the [[Principality of Achaea]], and produced one admiral, [[Benedetto I Zaccaria]]. 

== Genoese possessions ==
{{Main|Genoese colonies}}
At the time of its founding in the early 11th century the Republic of Genoa consisted of the city of [[Genoa]] and the surrounding areas. As the [[commerce]] of the city increased, so did the territory of the Republic. By the end of the 12th century all of [[Liguria]] fell under the Republic of Genoa. After the [[First Crusade]] in 1098 Genoa gained settlements in [[Syria (region)|Syria]]. (It lost the majority of them during the campaigns of [[Saladin]] in the 12th century.) In 1261 the city of [[Smyrna]] in [[Asia Minor]] became Genoese territory.<ref name="vas" />

In 1255, Genoa established the [[Genoese colonies|colony]] of [[Feodosiya|Caffa]] in [[Crimea]].<ref name="latorio">{{cite book |author=William Miller |title=The Latin Orient |publisher=Bibliobazaar LLC |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-110-86390-7 |pages=51–54}}</ref> In the following years the Genoese established further colonies in Crimea: [[Sudak|Soldaia]], [[Kerch|Cherco]] and [[Balaklava|Cembalo]].<ref name="latorio" /> Genoa and its colonies fought against several Mongol states in the [[Genoese–Mongol Wars]] to control the Crimean peninsula. In 1275 the [[Byzantine Empire]] granted the islands of [[Chios]] and [[Samos]] to Genoa.<ref name="latorio" /> 

Between 1316 and 1332, Genoa established the [[Black Sea]] colonies of [[Azov|La Tana]] (present-day Azov) and [[Samsun]] in [[Anatolia]]. In 1355, the Byzantine Emperor [[John V Palaiologos]] granted [[Lesbos]] to [[Francesco I Gattilusio|a Genoese lord]]. At the end of the 14th century the colony of Samastri was established in the Black Sea and [[Cyprus]] was granted to the Republic. At that period the Republic of Genoa also controlled one quarter of [[Constantinople]], capital of the Byzantine Empire, and [[Trabzon|Trebizond]], capital of the [[Empire of Trebizond]].<ref name="latorio" /> The [[Ottoman Empire]] conquered most of the Genoese overseas territories during the 15th century.<ref name="latorio" />

===Other territories outside mainland Italy===
[[File:Caffa and Theodoro 2.svg|thumb|right|300px|Genoa possessions in Crimea]]
* '''[[Crimea]] ([[Genoese Gazaria|Gazaria]]):''' Genoese colonies along the southern coast of Crimea, including Caffa (modern-day Feodosia), from 1266 to 1475, lost to the [[Ottoman Empire]] ([[Kefe Eyalet]]).
* '''[[Judicate of Logudoro|Giudicato of Logudoro]] ([[Sardinia]]):''' Genoese influence over the [[Kingdom of Sardinia]] from 1259 to 1325.
* '''[[North Aegean]] Sea ([[Chios]] and surrounding islands):''' Controlled by Genoa from 1261 to 1566.
* '''[[Corsica]]:''' Under Genoese rule from 1284 until 1768, when it was ceded to France.
* '''[[Byblos|Gibelet]] (Byblos) and [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] (in present-day Lebanon):''' Held during the time of the [[Crusader states]], c. 1100 to the late 13th century.
* '''[[Tabarka]] (Tunisia):''' Controlled by Genoa from 1540 to 1742.
* '''Cities in present-day [[Romania]]:''' Including [[Calafat]], [[Giurgiu]], [[Chilia Veche|Licostomo]], [[Vicina (town)|Vicina]], and [[Galați]]; Genoese [[Trading post|trading posts]] and [[Fortification|fortifications]] established between the 13th and 15th centuries.
* '''[[County of Nice]] (part):''' Held by Savoy until it was ceded to [[France]] under the [[Treaty of Turin (1860)|Treaty of Turin]] in 1860.
* '''[[Monaco]]:''' Sold to the [[House of Grimaldi|Grimaldi]] family in the 15th century, who established an independent [[principality]].

==Economy==
Genoese traders bought salt – from Hyères near Toulon in French Provence, from Cagliari in Sardinia, Tortosa in Iberia, and from other areas in the Black Sea, North Africa, Cyprus, Crete, and Ibiza – and made [[salami]]. They then sold salami in southern Italy for raw silk, which was sold in Lucca for fabrics, which were then sold to Lyon. Mule caravans from Genoa carried salt directly to [[Piacenza]], where it was transferred to river barges and transported down the [[Po (river)|Po]] to [[Parma]], and other [[Po Valley]] cities such as [[Reggio Emilia|Reggio]] and [[Bologna]]. Along these trade routes, Genoa competed with [[Republic of Venice|Venice]] for salt and for other cargoes, such as salami, prosciutto, cheese, textiles and spices.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kurlansky |first1=Mark |title=Salt: A World History |date=2002 |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf Canada |location=Toronto |isbn=0-676-97268-3 |pages=91–105}}</ref>

==Notable people==
<!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦---> 
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦--->
* [[Christopher Columbus]], late 15th century Italian explorer sponsored by the [[Catholic Monarchs of Spain]] who was the first person to find a route to the Caribbean and South America 
* [[Giovanni Giustiniani]], nobleman, mercenary captain, and defender of [[Constantinople]] during its [[Fall of Constantinople|siege in 1453]].
* [[Ingo della Volta]], late 11th century or early 12th century Genoese politician

==See also==
* [[Doge of Genoa]]
* [[Genoese colonies]]
* [[Genoese crossbowmen]]
* [[Gazaria (Genoese colonies)]]
* [[Great Council and Minor Council of Genoa]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Republic of Genoa}}
{{Former monarchies Italian peninsula}}
{{Repubbliche Marinare}}
{{Crusader States}}
{{Italy topics}}
{{Middle Ages}}
{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:History of the Mediterranean]]
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