The Old Port
Piazza De Ferrari
Porta Soprana
San Lorenzo Cathedral
The genoese flag
View of the city
Cristoforo Grassi "Genova", 1597
The city's
origins are lost in the mists of time. Founded by the Ligurians, a proud population inhabiting the Apennines, who were staunchly
opposed to the conquest of Rome, in ancient Roman times Genoa was an important
military port. Its proximity to the sea has always influenced the history of
the city, which developed around a natural bay nestled between the hills to the
north and the deep blue Mediterranean to the south.
During
the Middle Ages, Genoa became known as "the Magnificent," with its old town reaching the height of its
development between the natural harbor known as the Mandraccio and the
Lanterna, or lighthouse. During this time, the city abounded with treasure-filled
churches, such as Santa Maria di Castello,
San Donato, and Santi Cosma e Damiano. The magnificent Cathedral of San Lorenzo was also erected. To this day it houses
the Holy Chalice, considered by many
to be the Holy Grail associated with Crusades lore. The city’s buildings and
towers soared upwards, seeming to touch the sky. The port of Genoa was the
ideal place from which to embark on the Crusades, as is still attested by the
impressive ecclesiastic complex of the Commenda
di S. Giovanni di Pré. Genoa was once known as Ianua, given that it
constituted the gateway to the Mediterranean, linking Northern Europe, Africa,
the Middle East and the Black Sea.
With
the founding of its bank, the Banco San
Giorgio, the city became the capital of high finance. Genoese bankers lent
large sums of money to all the monarchies of Europe, and the city became an
opulent metropolis, whose luxury and wealth attracted artists and travelers
from around the world. Rubens spoke
of the city’s buildings as being "more worthy of a prince’s court than
that of a gentleman." Van Dyck
depicted the magnificent Genoese aristocracy with his stunning portraits, while
the artists of the Baroque period decorated the city’s sumptuous Palazzi dei Rolli, a select group of
grand buildings intended to host visiting members of the nobility.
The
Napoleonic Wars and the annexation of the Republic of Genoa to the Kingdom of
Piedmont-Sardinia turned the city into the first port of Italy. The old town
reached beyond its former boundaries, and the city gradually expanded,
sprawling to the hill of Castelletto, with its wide avenues, its squares
echoing the urban layout of European cities, and its richly decorated buildings,
which indicated the city’s thriving worldwide trade and commerce.