Genoa, the largest seaport in Italy, nicknamed la Superba ("the Proud one") due to its glorious past and impressive landmarks, is located on the coast of Ligurian Sea. Founded probably by Etruscans, and subsequent occupied by Greeks, Romans, Ostrogoths, Lombards, and Franks, Genoa emerged before 1100 as an independent city-state. It become one of the so-called Maritime Republics, with Venice, Pisa, and Amalfi.
Trade, shipbuilding, and banking helped support one of the largest and most powerful navies in the Mediterranean. The Republic of Genoa extended over modern Liguria, Piedmont, Sardinia, Corsica, and Nice, and it had practically complete control of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Through Genoese participation on the Crusades, colonies were established in the Middle East, Aegean, Sicily, and Northern Africa. The collapse of the Crusader States was offset by Genoa's alliance with the Byzantine Empire.
As Venice's relations with the Byzantines were temporarily disrupted by the Fourth Crusade, Genoa was able to improve its position. Its political zenith came with its victory over the Republic of Pisa in 1284, and with a temporary victory over Venice, in 1298. After it lost Sardinia to Aragon, Corsica to internal revolt, and its Middle Eastern, Eastern European, and Asia Minor colonies to the Turkish Ottoman Empire, it was able to stabilize its position, particularly thanks to the efforts of doge Andrea Doria.
At the time of Genoa's zenith in the 16th century, the city attracted many artists, including Rubens, Caravaggio and Van Dyck. The famed architect Galeazzo Alessi (1512–1572) designed many of the city’s splendid palazzi, and Bartolomeo Bianco (1590–1657) designed the centrepieces of University of Genoa.. With the shift in world economy and trade routes to the New World and away from the Mediterranean, Genoa's political and economic power went into steady decline.
Genoa's historic centre is articulated in a maze of squares and narrow caruggi (typical genoese alleys). It joins a medieval dimension with following 16th-century and Baroque interventions (San Matteo square and the ancient via Aurea, now via Garibaldi). The symbols of the city are the Lanterna (the lighthouse) (117 m high), old and standing lighthouse visible in the distance from the sea, and the monumental fountain of Piazza De Ferrari. Strada Nuova (now Via Garibaldi) was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2006.
About the stamp
The stamp belongs to a series of definitive stamps, about which I wrote here.
References
Gernoa - Wikipedia
Sender: Ana
Sent from Bologna (Lazio / Italy) on 27.05.2014
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