Place

Genoa

Not who you're looking for? Others named Genoa: village in Ottawa County, Ohio, United States · type of large jib or staysail · human settlement in Miller County, Arkansas, United States o · unincorporated Area

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Overview

Genoa is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2023, 558,745 people lived within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan area has 813,626 inhabitants, more than 1.5 million people live in the wider metropolitan area stretching along the Italian Riviera. On the Gulf of Genoa in the Ligurian Sea, Genoa has historically been one of the most important ports on the Mediterranean: it is currently the busiest in Italy and in the Mediterranean Sea and twelfth-busiest in the European Union. Genoa was the capital of one of the most powerful maritime republics for over seven centuries, from the 11th century to 1797. Particularly from the 12th century to the 15th century, the city played a leading role in the commercial trade in Europe, becoming one of the largest naval powers of the continent and considered among the wealthiest cities in the world. It was also nicknamed la Superba ("the proud one") by Petrarch due to its glories on the seas and impressive landmarks. The city has hosted massive shipyards and steelworks since the 19th century, and its solid financial sector dates back to the Middle Ages. The Bank of Saint George, founded in 1407, is the oldest known state deposit bank in the world and has played an important role in the city's prosperity since the middle of the 15th century. The historical centre, also known as old town, of Genoa is one of the largest and most-densely populated in Europe. Part of it was also inscribed on the World Heritage List (UNESCO) in 2006 as Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli. Genoa's historical city centre is also known for its narrow lanes and streets that the locals call "caruggi". Genoa is also home to the University of Genoa, which has a history going back to the 15th century, when it was known as Genuense Athenaeum. The city's rich cultural history in art, music and cuisine allowed it to become the 2004 European Capital of Culture. It is the birthplace of Guglielmo Embriaco, Christopher Columbus, Andrea Doria, Niccolò Paganini, Giuseppe Mazzini, Renzo Piano and Grimaldo Canella, founder of the House of Grimaldi, among others.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“As the griffin throttles these [beasts], so Genoa crushes her foes.”
— Mediæval motto of Genoa. Quoted in Edgcumbe Staley, Heroines of Genoa (1911), p. xxvii. Translation from Dale Kinney, "Review of "Sic hostes Ianua frangit": Spolien und Trophäen im mittelalterlichen Genua, by Rebecca Müller", Speculum, 80 (2005), p. 1,336
“Genoa has a port, goods, and proud houses.”
— From Latin verses quoted in William Lithgow, Totall Discourse, VII, 335
“If there were war with Venice a truce was made with Pisa; and whenever there was war with either there was usually peace at home, so that the frequent outbreaks of civil war coincided with periods of external inactivity, and perhaps served to keep the Genoese exercised in the military arts.”
— Robert W. Carden, The City of Genoa (1908), p. 11
“Leaving Piemont, and coasting the sassinous shoare of Genoaes revieroe, I ported Ligorne, the great Dukes Sea-haven; ...”
— William Lithgow, Totall Discourse, VIII, 350
“Nothing announces Italy better than Genoa; it is the worthy marble portico of this eternal gallery which ends at the Gulf of Taranto; it is the peristyle of this museum which exhibits its paintings, its statues, its cities, on the wall of the Apennines; and refreshes its atmosphere with the cross breezes of its two seas.”
— , Les Nuits italiennes (1853), Ch. 1
“Between the blue and the white, against the backdrop of the opaque green hills, Genoa is mysterious in the way of London, the other European city made up of water-tight compartments.”
— Guido Piovene, Viaggio in Italia (1957), p. 174

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

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Not who you're looking for? Others named Genoa: village in Ottawa County, Ohio, United States · type of large jib or staysail · human settlement in Miller County, Arkansas, United States o · unincorporated Area

Overview

Genoa is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2023, 558,745 people lived within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan area has 813,626 inhabitants, more than 1.5 million people live in the wider metropolitan area stretching along the Italian Riviera. On the Gulf of Genoa in the Ligurian Sea, Genoa has historically been one of the most important ports on the Mediterranean: it is currently the busiest in Italy and in the Mediterranean Sea and twelfth-busiest in the European Union. Genoa was the capital of one of the most powerful maritime republics for over seven centuries, from the 11th century to 1797. Particularly from the 12th century to the 15th century, the city played a leading role in the commercial trade in Europe, becoming one of the largest naval powers of the continent and considered among the wealthiest cities in the world. It was also nicknamed la Superba ("the proud one") by Petrarch due to its glories on the seas and impressive landmarks. The city has hosted massive shipyards and steelworks since the 19th century, and its solid financial sector dates back to the Middle Ages. The Bank of Saint George, founded in 1407, is the oldest known state deposit bank in the world and has played an important role in the city's prosperity since the middle of the 15th century. The historical centre, also known as old town, of Genoa is one of the largest and most-densely populated in Europe. Part of it was also inscribed on the World Heritage List (UNESCO) in 2006 as Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli. Genoa's historical city centre is also known for its narrow lanes and streets that the locals call "caruggi". Genoa is also home to the University of Genoa, which has a history going back to the 15th century, when it was known as Genuense Athenaeum. The city's rich cultural history in art, music and cuisine allowed it to become the 2004 European Capital of Culture. It is the birthplace of Guglielmo Embriaco, Christopher Columbus, Andrea Doria, Niccolò Paganini, Giuseppe Mazzini, Renzo Piano and Grimaldo Canella, founder of the House of Grimaldi, among others.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“As the griffin throttles these [beasts], so Genoa crushes her foes.”
— Mediæval motto of Genoa. Quoted in Edgcumbe Staley, Heroines of Genoa (1911), p. xxvii. Translation from Dale Kinney, "Review of "Sic hostes Ianua frangit": Spolien und Trophäen im mittelalterlichen Genua, by Rebecca Müller", Speculum, 80 (2005), p. 1,336
“Genoa has a port, goods, and proud houses.”
— From Latin verses quoted in William Lithgow, Totall Discourse, VII, 335
“If there were war with Venice a truce was made with Pisa; and whenever there was war with either there was usually peace at home, so that the frequent outbreaks of civil war coincided with periods of external inactivity, and perhaps served to keep the Genoese exercised in the military arts.”
— Robert W. Carden, The City of Genoa (1908), p. 11
“Leaving Piemont, and coasting the sassinous shoare of Genoaes revieroe, I ported Ligorne, the great Dukes Sea-haven; ...”
— William Lithgow, Totall Discourse, VIII, 350
“Nothing announces Italy better than Genoa; it is the worthy marble portico of this eternal gallery which ends at the Gulf of Taranto; it is the peristyle of this museum which exhibits its paintings, its statues, its cities, on the wall of the Apennines; and refreshes its atmosphere with the cross breezes of its two seas.”
— , Les Nuits italiennes (1853), Ch. 1
“Between the blue and the white, against the backdrop of the opaque green hills, Genoa is mysterious in the way of London, the other European city made up of water-tight compartments.”
— Guido Piovene, Viaggio in Italia (1957), p. 174

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.