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Genoa
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Genoa
Zena
— Comune —
Comune di Genova
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 8°55′58″E / 44.41111°N 8.93278°E / 44.41111; 8.93278Coordinates: 8°55′58″E / 44.41111°N 8.93278°E / 44.41111; 8.93278
Country Italy
Region Liguria
Province Genoa (GE)
Government
- Mayor Marta Vincenzi (Democratic Party)
Area
- Total 243.60 km2 (94.1 sq mi)
Elevation 20 m (66 ft)
Population (30 June 2009)[1]
- Total 610,766
- Density 2,507.2/km2 (6,493.7/sq mi)
- Demonym Genovesi
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 16121-16167
Dialing code 010
Patron saint John the Baptist
Saint day June 24
Website Official website
Genoa (Italian: Genova 
listen (help·info), pronounced [ˈdʒɛːnova]; in Genoese and Ligurian: Zena, pronounced [ˈzeːna]; in Latin and, archaically, in English: Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. The city has a population of about 610,000 and the urban area has a population of about 900,000. Genoa's Metropolitan Area has a population of about 1,400,000. It is also called la Superba ("the Superb one") due to its glorious past.[2] Part of the old city of Genoa was inscribed on the World Heritage List (UNESCO) in 2006 (see below). The city's rich art, music, gastronomy, architecture and history, made it 2004's EU Capital of culture[3].
Genoa, which forms the southern corner of the Milan-Turin-Genoa industrial triangle of north-west Italy, is one of the country’s major economic centres.[4][5] With a GDP of 15.08 billion Euros, or 1.3% of the national total, the city ranked fifth in Italy for economic strength in the year 2000: after Rome (6.45%), Milan (4.74%), Turin (2.19%) and Naples (1.51%), and ahead of Bologna (1.01%), Florence (1.00%) and Palermo 0.94%).[6] The Bank of Saint George, one of the oldest in the world, was founded here in 1407 and played an important role in the city’s prosperity from the middle of the fifteenth century.[7][8] Today a number of leading Italian companies are based in the city, including Ansaldo Energia[9], Ansaldo STS and Edoardo Raffinerie Garrone.
Etymology
Genua was a city of the ancient Ligurians. Its name may derive from the Latin word meaning "knee" (genu; plural, genua), i.e. "angle", from its geographical position at the center of the Ligurian coastal arch, thus akin to the name of Geneva. Or it could derive from the Celtic root genu-, genawa (pl. genowe), meaning "mouth", i.e., estuary; the same etymology is found in an area of the modern city, called Foce (river mouth). Still another hypothesis is derivation from the Latin word of Celtic origin "ianua", meaning "door", cognated with the Latin god Janus [1]. This latter etymology may be due to its position at the entrance of valleys which cross the Apennine mountains to connect the Mediterranean sea with the Padan Plain, and in this case it would be similar to that of other toponyms nearby, like Chiavari (from the Latin "Clavis Vallis", key to the valley) and Serravalle Scrivia (in Italian, city that "Closes the Scrivia Valley").
Flag
The flag of Genoa is a St George's Cross, a red cross on a lime white field, identical to the Flag of England, which also incorporates St George's Cross.
History
Ancient era and early Middle Ages
Genoa's history goes back to ancient times. The first historically known inhabitants of the area are the Ligures. The attribution of its foundation to Celts in 2500–2000 BC has been recently recognized as wrong.[citation needed]
A city cemetery, dating from the 6th and 5th centuries BC, testifies to the occupation of the site by the Greeks, but the fine harbor probably was in use much earlier, perhaps by the Etruscans. It is also probable that the Phoenicians had bases in Genoa, or in the nearby area, since an inscription with an alphabet similar to that used in Tyre has been found[citation needed].
In the Roman era, Genoa was overshadowed by the powerful Marseille and Vada Sabatia, near modern Savona. Different from other Ligures and Celt settlements of the area, it was allied to Rome through a foedus aequum ("Equal pact") in the course of the Second Punic War. It was therefore destroyed by the Carthaginians in 209 BC. The town was rebuilt and, after the end of the Carthaginian Wars, received municipal rights. The original castrum thenceforth expanded towards the current areas of Santa Maria di Castello and the San Lorenzo promontory. Genoese trades included skins, wood, and honey. Goods were shipped in the mainland up to important cities like Tortona and Piacenza.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Genoa was occupied by the Ostrogoths. After the Gothic War, the Byzantines made it the seat of their vicar. When the Lombards invaded Italy in 568, the Bishop of Milan fled and held his seat in Genoa.[10] Pope Gregory the Great was closely connected to these bishops in exile, for example involving himself the election of Deusdedit.[11] The Lombards, under King Rothari, finally captured Genoa and other Ligurian cities in about 643.[12] In 773 the Lombard Kingdom was annexed by the Frank empire; the first Carolingian count of Genoa was Ademarus, who was given the title praefectus civitatis Genuensis. Ademarus died in Corsica while fighting against the Saracens. In this period the Roman walls, destroyed by the Lombards, were rebuilt and extended.
For the following several centuries, Genoa was little more than a small, obscure fishing center, slowly building its merchant fleet which was to become the leading commercial carrier of the Mediterranean Sea. The town was sacked and burned in 934 by Arab pirates but it was quickly rebuilt.
In the 10th century the city, now part of the Marca Januensis ("Genoese Mark") was under the Obertenghi family, whose first member was Obertus I. Genoa was one of the first cities in Italy to have some citizenship rights granted by local feudataries.
Middle Ages and Renaissance
Before 1100, Genoa emerged as an independent city-state, one of a number of Italian city-states during this period. Nominally, the Holy Roman Emperor was overlord and the Bishop of Genoa was president of the city; however, actual power was wielded by a number of "consuls" annually elected by popular assembly. Genoa was one of the so-called "Maritime Republics" (Repubbliche Marinare), along with Venice, Pisa, and Amalfi) and trade, shipbuilding and banking helped support one of the largest and most powerful navies in the Mediterranean. The Adorno, Campofregoso, and other smaller merchant families all fought for power in this Republic, as the power of the consuls allowed each family faction to gain wealth and power in the city. The Republic of Genoa extended over modern Liguria and Piedmont, Sardinia, Corsica and had practically complete control of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Through Genoese participation on the Crusades, colonies were established in the Middle East, in the Aegean, in Sicily and Northern Africa. Genoese Crusaders brought home a green glass goblet from the Levant, which Genoese long regarded as the Holy Grail.