Genoa
Martin Jayne
On 13th October our own Martin Jayne took us on a visual and imaginary trip to Genoa on 13th October. This was a virtual tour of the Gulf of Genoa and its history from Monaco to Pisa. We started the journey through time 25,000 years ago by imagining a local scene of Stone Age Man.
Opening our eyes we saw “how the other half” were living: intricately terraced hillsides with walls that have stood the test of time. Greeks left their pottery for present day archeologists to discover, whilst the Romans constructed roads, still there as tracks linking the port of Genoa to its hinterland in Spain and Southern France. The Byzantines arrived 1500 years ago, leaving the magnificent mosaic in the baptistry at Albegna.
Genoa was pillaged by the Saracens in 927AD, and a slave trade made the port even more prosperous. There is a record of the first ever sale of a slave – a woman from Flanders (remember that for a quiz some time!). Slaves were the power source for the many boats plying the coast with silk, spices, slaves etc. These were tumultuous times with many a skirmish between competing cities. There was significant animosity between Genoa and Pisa: Genoans put a stop to Pisa’s prosperity as a port by filling in the harbour. The families recruited mercenaries who tended to be slaughtered after a campaign – dead soldiers did not need to be paid.
Family clans were a feature of life at the time of the Crusades, each family building a tower in the city, many of which can be visited today. The Grimaldi and Doria families were prominent.
The Victoria & Albert Museum is home to some beautiful Genoan carving on slate, featuring intricate detail of dragons. These would have been over the entrance to the houses in the narrow streets: houses had roof gardens as there was no space at ground level.
Martin recommends they are well worth a visit; it is steeped in history with picturesque views at every turn.
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