GENOA. 



triel of SaUmur ; ^ miles N.E. of La Gui^rclie. The 

 jjhce contains 14.55, ^'"^ "-''^ canton 8248 inhabitants, on a 

 territor)- of 190 kiiiometres, in 15 commiine<!. 



GENOA, and fuice the French revolution- the " Ligu- 

 riaa republic," is a fniall, mountainous territory, in the 

 northern part of Italy, forming a kind of crefcent along 

 tlie Mediterranean fea on the fouth, and covered on the land 

 fide by the Apennines, which feparate it from the countries 

 of Milan, Piedmont, the Montf,>rrat, the Milanefe, and Par- 

 mefan. Its length from the town of Vintimiglia on the 

 well, ulmoft to the tenitor)- of the republic of Lucca on 

 the eall, is about 150 miles, and its greateft breadth, from 

 the fea to the interior of the country, is not more than 20 

 mUej. The mountains that enclofe it are, in fome places, 

 covered, with forells, in others they are barren rocks, and in 

 fonie few parts they yield excellent pallure. There is but 

 a fmall quantity of arable land in this country, fo that it is 

 under a neceflity of feeking a fapply of corn from Naples, 

 Sicily, and other places ; but the inhabitants avail them- 

 felvcs of every fpot which is capable of cultivation. They 

 are furni.lied throughout the year with excellent legume; 

 and vegetables for the table ; they alfo make a coniiderable 

 qu:uititv of wines, and are amply provided with various 

 kinds of fruit, elpecially citrons, oranges, pomegranates, 

 almonds, and ligs. Tiiey raiie a great number of mulberry 

 trees for feeding filk-worms, and olives grow in great plenty, 

 particularly round the guli of Spezzia. Salt is produced 

 for c.'cportation. The Apennines, and fome other hills, 

 fupply them with excellent marble, while Polzevera, in the 

 Eocchetta, yields the beautiful itone fo called, being ferpen- 

 tine of various colours veined v.ith marble, which is eafily 

 conveyed by a magnificent road fonncd, in 177S, from the 

 Bocchetta, or mountains to the north of Genoa, through the 

 Polzevera, by three years' labour of from five to eight hun- 

 dred men, at the expence of one patriotic and noble family, 

 the Cambiafi. The inhabitants of this ccnntr;-, amounting 

 to about 400,000, are Roman Catholics, though the papcJ 

 power is not much venerated ; the peo]>le being devoted to 

 commerce, and difpofed to receive monied heretics, without 

 any religious fcru',Ies. The manufa&ures were formerly 

 very confiderable, but they have of late declined; the prm- 

 cipal are velvet, plufli, damafk, different kinds of fdk, for 

 which they are fuoplitd with llie raw material from Mef- 

 fma and other places ; gold and filver iluffs, lace, gloves, 

 ftockingG, ribbons, foap, paper, &c. Other articles of 

 commerce are, oil, fruit, macaroni, confecfionary, Par- 

 mefan cheefe, anchovies, &c. Although Genoa is a free 

 port, Leghorn, which is likewife free and indulged with 

 greater liberty, interferes with its trade, and din.inifnes it. 

 T"his country is part of die ancient Liguria (fee LiGUitlA) ; 

 ■which, in the fecond Punic war, efpouled the interell ot the 

 Carthaginians ; but the city of Genoa, which was then a 

 celebrated emporium, taking part wish the Romans, was 

 plundered and burnt by Mago the Ciii'tliaginian. It was 

 afterwards rebuilt by th; Romans, and continued under 

 their dominion, together v.ith the reft of Italy, till the 

 conelufion of the Hfth century, about A. D. 498, when 

 Thcodoric, king of the Goths, having defeated the ufurper 

 Odoacer, was proclaimed by the army king of Italy, even 

 with the confcnt of the emperor Zeno. Genoa \ as after- 

 wards recovered by Belifarius, v. hen he entirely fubdued the 

 Goths ; and when the Lombards invaded Italy, this city 

 rerr.r.ined for fome time un.'nolefted, deriving an acceflion of 

 we.dth and inhiioitiuits by the refugees who fled from the 

 vicinity of the Po, in order to efcape the fury of the in- 

 vaders. At lenjjth, in the feventh century, Genoa \>'ss 

 plundered aad burnt by the Lombards, and remained undtr 



their power till Italy was conquered by Charlemagne, when 

 the territory of Genoa, diilinguilhed by its wealth and 

 populoufncfs, was crefted into a marquifate. It foon after- 

 wards became fo powerful, under the Genoefe empire, and 

 after it had obtained a kind of independence, that, in 8c6, 

 it reduced the ifland of Corfica, and in 935 defeated the 

 Saracens, who had plundered and burnt the city, in their 

 return to Africa, on the coall of Sardinia. About the 

 year 950, when the Franks having loft all authority in 

 Italv, the Genoefe began to form tliemfelves into a kir.d 

 of arlftocratical republic, under a chief called tio^e, (fee 

 Doge,) elccled every two years, and to be governed by 

 their own magillrates, who were freely elected, and took 

 the name of confuls. In order to maintain thcu- indepen- 

 dence, they applied, with great alTiduity, to navigation and 

 commerce, and thus became rich and pov/erful. Their 

 commerce extended from Spain to Syria, and from Eg)-pt 

 to Conilantinople, and was carried on in veflels, that were 

 titled for war as well as traffic. In the year 1017 they 

 united with the Pifaus in an expedition againft Sardinia ; 

 and about 33 years after this expedition, the Genoefe and 

 Pifans were engaged in a deilruClive war, which laftcd 

 nearly 18 years;" but when a treaty of pcrxe and alliance was 

 concluded between them, they concurred in a fuccefsful 

 expedition againft the Moors, in Africa. What contributed 

 more than any other circumitance to the opulerce and 

 grandeur of the Genoefe, was the part they took m the 

 crufades, and the important fervices they rendered to the 

 religious warriors, towards the clofe of the eleventh and 

 commencement of the twelfth centuries. During the latter 

 century, they fubjeded the half of Sardinia, and the city- 

 cf SyVacufe ; they alfo made themfelves mafters of the 

 Black fea, formed eftabhihments in the Crimea and in the 

 fuburbs of Pera, at Conftantinople, where they remained 

 till the Turks took that city. In the thirteenth century,, 

 thev added to their conquefts the towns of Albengo, 

 Savona, Vintimiglia, and others in their neighbourhood ; 

 and for the fuperiority of the fea, they engaged in a long 

 and obilinate conteft with the Venetians, which did not 

 terminate till the year 1 38 1. In their various conflicts 

 with neighbouring powers, their ftrength was enfeebled, lo 

 that, in I471, they were expelled from the Crimea; though 

 their maritime power ftill continued refpeclable. Exhaufted 

 by the Venetian v%-ar, in particular, Genoa offered volun- 

 tary lubjection to France and to Milan ; but alter many 

 revolts and conflifts, with a view of recovenng their inde- 

 pendence, they were at length, -via. in 1528, refcu.d from- 

 the dominion of foreign princes, by the vigorous exertions 

 of Andrew Doria. Doria, having driven out the French, 

 and gamed poffeiTion of Genoa, alTembled the nobility, and 

 reftored the government into their hands, declaring that he 

 pretended to no greater fliare in it than becam.e him as a 

 nobleman. He re-eftablilhed the ancient form of the re- 

 public, and received from his countvy all thofe teilimonies 

 of gratitude, which a conduft fo difinterefted feemed to 

 dcfer.-e. (SeeDouiA. Y Towards the end of the fixteenth 

 centurv, Genoa was diltradled by a civil v^ar ; but after a 

 reconciliation had been effecled between the two contending 

 parties, diitinguiflied by tlie appellations of the old and 

 new nobility, the republic enjoyed peace and felicity for an 

 interval of 48 years, during wliich period fcarccly aa inci- 

 dent:, do.-netiic or foreign, occurred, that is worth recordinj^- 

 In the year 1624, a dif7)ute arofe between the republic and 

 Charl s Emanuel, duke of Saxony, in which Le.vis XIII. 

 bore a ihare ; and a treaty was concluded befAeen Frar.ce 

 and Savoy, that was hoftile to the Genoese. On this occa- 

 Con the Spaniards declurcd in favour o.^ Genoa j and a. 



peace 



