Genoa, << JEHN oh uh >> (pop. 560,688), is a historic city and an important port in northwestern Italy. Genoa lies between the Gulf of Genoa and the Apennine Mountains. The city’s name in Italian is Genova. The city is the capital of the region of Liguria. The famous navigator Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa in 1451.
City.
Genoa lies on a narrow plain along the gulf and on the slopes of the mountains. Genoa’s old section along the water’s edge has many narrow winding streets and old buildings. The newer districts of the city sprawl across the mountainsides.
Many elegant palaces and churches, some dating back to the 1500’s, line the main streets in the old section. The Via Garibaldi is the street with the greatest number of palaces. The major landmarks of the city include the Cathedral of San Lorenzo and the Palace of the Doge. The doge was the city’s leader (see Doge).
Economy.
Genoa serves as the main seaport in Italy and a major outlet for the agricultural products of the nearby Po Valley. Genoa, Milan, and Turin make up what is known as Italy’s Industrial Triangle. Genoa’s imports, which include chemicals, coal, crude petroleum, grain, and ore, provide raw materials needed in the region’s industries. Major exports include cotton and silk goods, machinery, olive oil, and wine. Shipbuilding is an important industry in Genoa. The city also has oil refineries and plants for processing food and manufacturing machinery. Tourism is important to the economy.
History.
The Romans settled Genoa in the 200’s B.C. After the Roman Empire split apart in the A.D. 400’s, Genoa developed its own naval power. It became a city-state, a self-governing area consisting of the city and its surrounding territory, ruled by nobles. During the 1100’s, Genoa set up trading settlements in Constantinople, Cyprus, Syria, and Tunis. At the height of its power, Genoa controlled outposts and a trade network that extended beyond the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea.
In 1339, a revolution overthrew the nobles who controlled the government. Power went to the doge, who was elected by the people. A plague called the Black Death killed many Genoese in the late 1340’s. A series of wars with Venice for control of trade in the eastern Mediterranean ended in 1381 with the defeat of Genoa.
A period of economic decline followed, but the economy improved in the 1500’s. Many Genoese merchants made fortunes and had palaces constructed for themselves. In 1528, a new constitution set up a government ruled by the nobles. In the 1600’s, Genoa again experienced economic decline. In 1656, about half of the city’s people died in another plague.
Genoa came under indirect French power in 1797, and under full French control in 1805. After the United Kingdom and Prussia led an alliance of European powers to defeat the French emperor Napoleon I in 1815, the Kingdom of Sardinia took over the city. The Italian military hero Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto, now a suburb east of Genoa, in 1860 to begin a campaign for Italian unification. In 1861, Genoa became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Italy.
Bombings damaged Genoa during World War II (1939-1945). The damage was repaired, and the city expanded greatly. In 1992, the Italian architect Renzo Piano transformed the Old Harbor into a cultural, entertainment, and shopping area. In 2018, 43 people died after a 260-foot (80-meter) section of the Ponte Morandi (Morandi Bridge) collapsed during a powerful rainstorm. Observers called the collapse one of the worst disasters in modern Italian history. A replacement bridge was completed in 2020.
