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History–Tours
10991099–1797 · Genoa

The maritime Republic of Genoa

Painted view of Genoa in 1481: the walled city curving round a harbour crowded with galleys and sailing ships
Archival image: Cristofaro Grasso. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Genoa's merchants and fleets built a trading empire from the crusades onward, with colonies around the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Levant, and fought Pisa and Venice for the eastern trade. In the 16th century its bankers lent to the kings of Spain, and noble families lined the Strade Nuove with palaces that took turns to lodge state guests. Napoleon ended the republic in 1797.

Sites

  1. Site 1: Via Garibaldi and the Palazzi dei RolliPainted palace façades, courtyards and the Palazzo Rosso and Bianco galleries.Map ↗
  2. Site 2: Palazzo San GiorgioThe frescoed seat of the Bank of St George on the old harbour.Map ↗
  3. Site 3: Lanterna lighthouseThe 16th-century lighthouse still guiding ships, with a museum at its foot.Map ↗

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