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See also:GENOA (anc. Genua, Ital. Genova, Fr. GPnes) , the See also:chief See also:port of See also:Liguria, See also:Italy, and See also:capital of the See also:province of See also:Genoa, 119 m . N.W. of See also:Leghorn by See also:rail . Pop . (1906) 255,294 (See also:town); 267,248 (See also:commune) . The town is situated on the Gulf of Genoa, and is the chief port and commercial town of Italy, the seat of an See also:archbishop and a university, the headquarters of the IV . See also:Italian See also:army See also:corps, and a strong fortress . The See also:city, as seen from the See also:sea, is " built nobly," and deserves the See also:title it has acquired or assumed of the Superb . Finding only a small space of level ground along the See also:shore, it has been obliged to climb the See also:lower hills of the Ligurian See also:Alps, which afford many a coign of vantage for the effective display of its architectural magnificence . The See also:original See also:nucleus of the city is that portion which lies to the See also:east of the port in the neighbourhood of the old See also:pier (See also:Mold Vecchio) . In the loth See also:century it began to feel a lack of See also:room within the limits of its fortifications; and accordingly, in the See also:middle of the 12th century, it was found necessary to extend the See also:line of See also:circumvallation . Even this second See also:circuit, however, was of small See also:compass, and it was not till 1320-1330 that a third line took in the greater See also:part of the See also:modern site of the city proper . This presented about 3 M. of rampart towards the See also:land See also:side, and can still be easily traced from point to point through the city, though large portions, especially towards the east, have been dismantled .
The See also:present line of circumvallation See also:dates from 1626-1632, the See also:period when the See also:independence of Genoa was threatened by the See also:dukes of See also:Savoy
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From the mouth of the Bisagno in the east, and from the lighthouse point in the See also:west, it stretches inland over See also:
Donato (with remains of the loth-century See also:building) and others belong to the12th century, and S
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Giovanni di Pre, S
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See also:Agostino (with a See also:fine campanile), S
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Stefano, S
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Matteo and others to the 13th
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The famous See also:painting of the martyrdom of S
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See also:Stephen, by Giulio Romano, carried off by See also:Napoleon in 1811, was restored to S
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Stefano in 1815
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S
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Matteo, the See also:
The little square in front of the church is surrounded by Gothic palaces of the Doria family
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Of the churches the See also:principal is the comparatively small See also:cathedral of S
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Lorenzo
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Tradition makes its first See also:foundation contemporary with St See also:Lawrence himself; and a document of 987 implies that it was even then the See also:metropolitan church
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Reconstructed about the end of the 1th and beginning of the 12th century, it was formally consecrated by Pope See also:Gelasius II. on the 18th of See also:October 1118; and since then it has undergone a large number of extensive though partial renovations
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The facade, with its three elaborate doorways, belongs to the 14th century and is a copy of French See also:models of the 13th
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The two side portals with Romanesque sculptures belong to the 12th-14th centuries
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Some See also:pagan reliefs are built into the See also:tower
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The interior was rebuilt in 1307, the old columns being used
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The See also:belfry, which rises above the right-See also:hand See also:doorway, was erected about 1520 by the doge, Ottaviano da Campofragoso, and the See also:cupola was erected after the designs of the architect Galeazzo See also:Alessi in 1567
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The fine See also:Early See also:Renaissance (1448) sculptural decorations of the See also:chapel of S
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See also: An See also:edict of See also:Innocent VIII. forbids See also:women to enter the chapel except on one See also:day in the See also:year . In the See also:treasury of the cathedral is a magnificent See also:silver See also:monstrance dating from 1553, and an octagonal bowl, the Sacro Catino, brought from Caesarea in 'Tor, which corresponds to the descriptions given of the See also:Holy See also:Grail, and was See also:long regarded as an See also:emerald of matchless value, but was found when broken at See also:Paris, whither it had been carried by Napoleon I., to be only a remark-able piece of ancient See also:glass . The See also:choir-stalls are a very fine See also:work of the 15th century and later, with intarsias . Near the cathedral is a small 12th-century (?) cloister . Of older date than the cathedral is the church of S . See also:Ambrose and S . See also:Andrew, if its first foundation be correctly assigned toi the Milanese See also:bishop Honoratus of the 6th century; but the present edifice is due to the Society of Jesus, who obtained See also:possession of the church in 1587 . The interior is richly decorated and contains the " See also:Circumcision " and " St See also:Ignatius" by See also:Rubens, and the " See also:Assumption " of Guido Reni . The Annunziata del Guastato is one of the largest churches in the city, erected in 1587 . It is a cruciform structure, with a dome, and the central See also:nave is supported by fourteen Corinthian columns of white marble . To the otherwise unfinished See also:brick facade a portal See also:borne by marble columns was added in 1843 . The interior is covered with See also:gilding and frescoes of the 17th century, and is somewhat overloaded with See also:rich decoration, while a range of white marble columns supports the nave . See also:Santa Maria delle See also:Vigne probably dates from the 9th century, but the present structure was erected in 1586 . The campanile, however, is a remarkable work of the 13th century . Adjoining the church is a ruined cloister of the 11th century . See also:San Siro, originally the " Church of the Apostles" and the cathedral of Genoa, was rebuilt by the See also:Benedictines in the 11th century, and restored and enlarged by the Theatines in 1576, the facade being added in 183o; in this church in 1339 See also:Simone Boccanera was elected first doge of Genoa . Santa Maria di See also:Carignano, or more correctly Santa Maria Assunta e SS . Fabiano e Sebastiano, belongs mainly to the 16th century, and was designed by Galeazzo Alessi, in See also:imitation of See also:Bramante's See also:plan for S . See also:Peter's at See also:Rome, as it was then being executed by See also:Michelangelo . The interior is fine, harmonious and restrained, painted in white and See also:grey, while the colouring of the exterior is less pleasing . From the highest See also:gallery of the dome—368 ft. above the sea-level, and 194 ft. above the ground—a magnificent view is obtained of the city and the neighbouring See also:coast . Buildings of the 15th century do not occupy an important See also:place in Genoa, but there are some small private houses and remains of sculptural decoration of the Early Renaissance to be seen in the older portions of the town . The palaces of the Genoese See also:patricians, famous for their sumptuous See also:architecture, their See also:general effectiveness (though the architectural details are often faulty if closely examined), and their See also:artistic collections, were many of them built in the latter part of the 16th century by Galeazzo Alessi, a See also:pupil of Michelangelo, whose style is of an imposing and See also:uniform See also:character and displays marvellous ingenuity in using a limited or unfavourable site to the greatest See also:advantage . Several of the villas in the vicinity of the city are also his work . The Via See also:Garibaldi is flanked by a See also:succession of magnificent palaces, chief among which is the Palazzo Rosso, so called from its red See also:colour . Formerly the See also:palace of the Brignole-See also:Sale family, it was presented by the duchess of Galliera to the city in 1874, along with its valuable contents, its library and picture gallery, which includes fine examples of See also:Van Dyck and Paris See also:Bordone . The Palazzo Municipale, built by Rocco Lurago at the end of the 16th century, once the See also:property of the dukes of See also:Turin, has a beautiful entrance See also:court and a See also:hanging terraced See also:garden fronting a See also:noble See also:staircase of marble which leads to the spacious See also:council chamber . In an adjoining room are preserved a See also:bronze tablet dating from 117 B.C . (see below), two autograph letters of See also:Columbus, and the See also:violin of See also:Paganini, also a native of Genoa . Opposite the Palazzo Rosso is the Palazzo Bianco, a palace full of See also:art treasures bequeathed to the city by the duchess of Galliera upon her See also:death in 1889, and subsequently converted into a museum . The See also:Roman antiquities here preserved belong to other places—See also:Luna, Libarna, &c . The Adorno, Giorgio Doria (both containing small but choice picture-galleries), Parodi and Serra and other palaces in this See also:street are worthy of mention . The Via See also:Balbi again contains a number of palaces . The Durazzo Pallavicini palace has a noble facade and staircase and a rich picture-gallery . The street takes its name, however, from the Palazzo Balbi-Senarega, which has Doric colonnades and a fine orangery . The Palazzo dell' University has an extremely fine court and staircase of the early 17th century . The Palazzo Reale is also handsome but somewhat later . The Palazzo Doria in the Piazza del Principe, presented to Andrea Doria by the Genoese in 1522, is on the other hand earlier; it was remodelled in 1529 by Montorsoli and decorated with fine frescoes by Perino del Vaga . The old palace of the doges, originally a building of the 13th century, to which the tower alone belongs,. the See also:rest of the building having been remodelled in the 16th century and modernized after a See also:fire in 1777, stands in the Piazza Umberto Primo near the cathedral, and now contains the See also:telegraph and other See also:government offices . Another very fine building is the Gothic Palazzo di S . Giorgio, near the See also:harbour, dating from about 126o, occupied from 1408 to 1797 by the Banca di S . Giorgio, and now converted into a produce See also:exchange . The Campo Santo or Cimitero di Staglieno, about 11 m. from the city on the See also:banks of the Bisagno, is one of the chief features of Genoa; its situation is of great natural beauty and it is remark-able for its sepulchral monuments, many of which have been executed by the foremost sculptors of modern Italy . The university, founded in 1471, is a flourishing institution with faculties in See also:law, See also:medicine, natural See also:science, See also:engineering and See also:philosophy . Attached to it are a library, an See also:observatory, a botanical garden, and a See also:physical and natural See also:history museum . Genoa is also well supplied with technical See also:schools and other institutions for higher See also:education, while ample See also:provision is made for See also:primary education . The hospitals and the See also:asylum for the poor are among the finest institutions of their See also:kind in Italy . Mention must also be made of the See also:Academy of Fine Arts, the mwucipal-library, the great Teatro Carlo Felice and the See also:Verdi s~ ttute of See also:Music . The irregular See also:relief, of its site and its long confinement within the limits of fortifications, which it had outgrown, have both contributed to render Genoa a picturesque confusion of narrow streets, lanes and alleys, varied with stairways climbing the steeper slopes and See also:bridges spanning the deeper valleys . Large portions of the town are inaccessible to See also:ordinary carriages, and many of the important streets have very little room for See also:traffic . In modern times, however, a number of fine streets and squares with beautiful gardens have been laid out . The Piazza See also:Ferrari, a large irregular space, is the chief See also:focus of traffic and the centre of the Genoese See also:tramway See also:system; it is embellished with a fine equestrian statue of Garibaldi, unveiled in 1893, which stands in front of the Teatro Carlo Felice . Leading from this piazza is the Via Venti Settembre, a broad, handsome street laid out since 1887, leading See also:south-east to the See also:Ponte Pila, the central See also:bridge over the Bisagno . The street is itself spanned by an elegant bridge carrying the Corso Andrea See also:Podesta, a modern See also:avenue on the heights above . Adjoining the church of the Madonna della Consolazione is the new See also:market, a building of no little beauty . The Via See also:Roma, another important centre of traffic which gives on to the Via Carlo Felice near the Piazza Ferrari, leads to the Piazza Corvetto, in the centre of which stands the See also:colossal equestrian statue of See also:Victor See also:Emmanuel II . To the left is the Villetta Dinegro, a beautiful See also:park belonging to the city, decorated with cascades and a number of statues and busts of prominent statesmen and citizens . To the right is another park, the Acquasola, laid out in 1837 on the site of the old ramparts . In the west of the city, in front of the principal station, is the Piazza Acquaverde . On the See also:north side, embowered in See also:palm trees, is a great statue of Columbus, at whose feet kneels the figure of See also:America . Opposite is the Palazzo Faraggiana, with scenes from the See also:life of Columbus in relief on its marble See also:pediment . Among other modern thoroughfares, the Via di Circonvallazione a Monte, laid out since 1876 on the hills at the back of the town, leads by many curves from the Piazza See also:Manin along the hill-tops westward, and finally descends into the Piazza Acquaverde; its entire length is traversed by an electric tramway, and it commands magnificent views of the town . A similar road, the Via di Circonvallazione a See also:Mare, was laid out in 1893--1895 on the site of the See also:outer ramparts, and skirts the sea-front from the Piazza See also:Cavour to the mouth of the Bisagno, thence ascending the right See also:bank to the Ponte Pila . Genoa is remarkably well served with electric tramways, which are found in all the wider streets, and run, often through tunnels, into the suburbs and to the surrounding country on the east as far as Nervi and to Pegli oh the west . Three funicular See also:railways from different points of the city give See also:access to the highest parts of the hills behind the town . Though its existence as a maritime See also:power was originally due to its port, it is only since 187o that Genoa has provided the conveniences necessary for the modern development of its See also:trade, the See also:duke of Galliera's See also:gift of £800,000 to the city in 1875 being devoted to this purpose . A further enlargement of the harbour was necessitated upon the opening of the St Gotthard See also:tunnel in 1882, which extended the commercial range of the port through See also:Switzerland into See also:Germany . The old harbour is semi-circular in shape, 23a acres in area, with numerous quays, and protected by moles from See also:southern and south-See also:westerly winds . An outer harbour, 247 acres in area, has been constructed in front of this by extending the Molo Nuovo.by the Molo Duca di Galliera, and another See also:basin, the See also:Vittorio Emanuele III., for See also:coal vessels, with an area of 96 acres, is in course of construction to the west of this, between it and the lofty lighthouse which rises on the promontory at the south-west extremity of the harbour . This basin is to be entered from both the east and the west, and allows for a future See also:extension in front of San Pier d'See also:Arena as far as the mouth of the See also:river Polcevera . The port See also:administration was placed under an autonomous harbour See also:board (consorzio) in I9o3; The largest See also:ships can enter the harbour, which has a minimum See also:depth of 3o ft.; it has two dry docks, a graving See also:dock and a floating dry dock . Very large warehouses have been constructed . The exports are See also:olive oil, See also:hemp, See also:flax, See also:rice, See also:fruit, See also:wine, hats, See also:cheese, See also:steel, velvets, gloves, See also:flour, See also:paper, See also:soap and marble, while the main imports are coal, See also:cotton, See also:grain, machinery, &c . Genoa has a large emigrant traffic with America, and a large general passenger steamer traffic both for America and for the East . The development of See also:industry has kept See also:pace with that of the harbour . The Ansaldo See also:shipbuilding yards construct armoured cruisers both for the Italian See also:navy and for See also:foreign, governments, The Odero yards, for the construction of See also:merchant and passenger steamers, have been similarly extended, and the Foce yard is also important . A number of foundries and metallurgical See also:works See also:supply material for See also:repairs and shipbuilding . The See also:sugar-refining industry has been introduced by two important companies, and most of the capital employed in sugar-refining in other parts of Italy has been subscribed at Genoa, where the administrative offices of the principal companies and individual refiners are situated . The old See also:industries of See also:macaroni and cognate products maintain their superiority . Tanneries and cotton-See also:spinning and See also:weaving See also:mills have considerably extended throughout the province . See also:Cement works have acquired an extension previously unknown, more than See also:thirty firms being now engaged in that See also:branch of industry . The manufactures of crystallized fruits and of See also:filigree silver-work may also be mentioned . The trade of the port increased from well under 1,000,000 tons in 1876 to 6,164,873 metric tons in 1906 (the latter figure, however, includes See also:home trade in a proportion of about 12%) . Of this large See also:total 5,365,544 tons are imports and only 799,319 tons are exports, and, comparing 1906 with 1905, we have a decrease of 34,355 tons on the exports, and an increase of 436,123 tons on the imports . The effect upon the railway problem is of course very great, inasmuch as, while the supply of trucks required per day in 1906 was from 1000 to 1200, about 8o% of these had to be sent down empty to the harbour . Of the four main lines which centre on Genoa—(1) to Novi, which is the junction for See also:Alessandria, where lines diverge to Turin and See also:France via the Mont Cenis, and to NovaraandSwitzerland and France via the Simplon, and for See also:Milan; (2) to See also:Acqui and See also:Piedmont; (3) to See also:Savona, See also:Ventimiglia and the French See also:Riviera, along the coast ; (4) to See also:Spezia and See also:Pisa—the first line has to take no less than 78% of the traffic . It has indeed two alternative double lines for the passage over the See also:Apennines, but one of them has a maximum gradient of 1 : 18 and a tunnel over 2 M. long, and the other has a maximum gradient of 1 : 62, and a tunnel over 5 M. long . A marshalling station costing some £800,000, connected directly with the harbour by tunnels, with 31 M. of rails, capable of taking 2000 trucks, was constructed at Campasso in 1906 north of San Pier d'Arena (through which till then the traffic of the first three lines, representing 95% of the total, had to pass) . It is computed that some 40% of the total See also:commerce of Italy passes through Genoa; it is indeed the most important harbour inthe western Mediterranean, with the exception of See also:Marseilles, with which it carries on a keen rivalry . Genoa has in the past been somewhat handicapped in the See also:race by the insufficiency of railway communication, which, owing to the mountains which encircle it, is difficult to secure, Many tunnels being necessary . The general See also:condition of the Italian railways has also affected it, and the increased traffic has not always found the necessary facilities in the way of a proper amount of trucks to receive the goods discharged, leading to considerable encumbrance of the port and consequent diversion of a certain amount of trade elsewhere, and besides this to serious temporary deficiencies in the coal supply of See also:northern Italy . The imports of Genoa are divided into four main classes: about 50% of the total See also:weight is coal, grain about 12%, cotton about 6%, and See also:miscellaneous about 34% . Of the coal imports the great bulk is from See also:British ports: about See also:half comes from See also:Cardiff and See also:Barry, one-tenth from other Welsh ports, one-fifth from the See also:Tyne ports . The amount shows an almost continued increase from 617,798 tons in 1881 to 2,737,919 in 1906 . The total of See also:shipping entered in 1906 was 6586 vessels with a See also:tonnage of 6,867,442, while that cleared was 6611 vessels with a tonnage of 6,682,104 . History.—Genoa, being a natural harbour of the first See also:rank, must have been in use as a seaport as early as See also:navigation< |