123-636: Timeline The history of early modern Italy roughly corresponds to the period from the Renaissance to the Congress of Vienna in 1814. The following period was characterized by political and social unrest which then led to the unification of Italy , which culminated in 1861 with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy . The Italian Renaissance covered the 15th and 16th centuries of Italian history and brought about considerable economic and cultural development of
246-550: A French army swiftly occupied Naples in early 1806. Ferdinand's court fled to Sicily where they enjoyed British protection. Napoleon appointed his brother Joachim as king of Naples, but he governed only the mainland as Sicily and Sardinia remained outside of French control. During the years of Bourbon exile in Sicily, the British came to exercise political control over the island and forced Ferdinand to impose several democratic reforms. But when
369-762: A central position in the Mediterranean slave trade at this time. This left the Republic with only one major rival in the Mediterranean: Venice. The Genoese slave trade and the Venetian slave trade were the main players of the slave trade in the Mediterranean during the middle ages. Genoese Crusaders brought home a green glass goblet from the Levant , which Genoese long regarded as the Holy Grail . Not all of Genoa's merchandise
492-702: A climate of constant economic and power decline, in 1729 the Republic had to face another revolt in Corsica. It is considered the first moment of real rupture between the island and the Genoese Republic: perhaps the most important, because the representatives of the Church in full harmony with the Roman Curia , "justified" the war. This time the Genoese government requested the help of Charles VI , who sent 10,000 German infantry of
615-669: A key factor in the triumph of the Genoese Republic is still recognized, and its coat of arms is depicted in the flag of the Italian Navy . In 1284, Genoa fought victoriously against the Republic of Pisa in the Battle of Meloria for dominance over the Tyrrhenian Sea , and it was an eternal rival of Venice for dominance in the Mediterranean as a whole. The republic began when Genoa became
738-645: A large portion of the trade of the Byzantine Empire , Tripoli (Libya), the Principality of Antioch , Cilician Armenia , and Egypt. Although Genoa maintained free-trading rights in Egypt and Syria, it lost some of its territorial possessions after Saladin's campaigns in those areas in the late 12th century. In 1147, Genoa took part in the Siege of Almería , helping Alfonso VII of León and Castile reconquer that city from
861-519: A naval ascendency that was the source of their power and position within northern Italy. The Genoan defeat deprived Genoa of this naval supremacy, pushed it out of eastern Mediterranean markets and began the decline of the city-state. Rising Ottoman power also cut into the Genoese emporia in the Aegean, and the Black Sea trade was reduced. In 1396, in order to protect the republic from internal unrest and
984-566: 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 . At that time Muslim raiders were attacking coastal cities on the Tyrrhenian Sea . Muslims raided Pisa in 1000, and in 1015 they escalated their attacks, raiding Luni . Mujahid al-Siqlabi , Emir of
1107-594: A part of the Genoese army returned to Genoa with the relics of Saint John the Baptist , granted to the Republic of Genoa as part of their reward for providing military support to the First Crusade. Many settlements in the Middle East were given to Genoa as well as favorable commercial treaties . Genoa later allied with King Baldwin I of Jerusalem (reigned 1100–1118). To secure the alliance, Baldwin gave Genoa one-third of
1230-598: A satellite of France, these satellites sparked a nationalist movement. The Cisalpine Republic was converted into the Italian Republic in 1802, under the presidency of Napoleon. As all of these republics were imposed by an outside force, none had any popular support in Italy, especially since the peasantry was alienated by Jacobin anti-clericalism. It would take a true grassroots movement to bring change. In addition, even native republicans became disillusioned when they realized that
1353-646: A self-governing commune in the 11th century and ended when it was conquered by the French First Republic under Napoleon and replaced with the Ligurian Republic . The Ligurian Republic was annexed by the First French Empire in 1805; its restoration was briefly proclaimed in 1814 following the defeat of Napoleon, but it was annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1815. From the 11th century to 1528 it
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#17330924582401476-745: A situation close to that of 1795, dividing Italy between Austria (in the north-east and Lombardy), the Kingdom of Sardinia , the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (in the south and in Sicily), and Tuscany , the Papal States and other minor states in the centre. However, old republics such as Venice and Genoa were not recreated, Venice went to Austria, and Genoa went to the Kingdom of Sardinia . On Napoleon's escape and return to France (the Hundred Days ), he regained Murat's support, but Murat proved unable to convince
1599-570: A strong tradition of trading goods from the Levant and its financial expertise was recognised all over Europe. After a brief period of French domination from 1394 to 1409, Genoa came under the rule of the Visconti of Milan . Genoa lost Sardinia to Aragon , Corsica to internal revolt, and its colonies in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Asia Minor to the Ottoman Empire . In the 15th century, two of
1722-433: Is a timeline of Italian history , comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Italy and its predecessor states, including Ancient Rome and Prehistoric Italy . Date of the prehistoric era are approximate. For further background, see history of Italy and list of prime ministers of Italy . Lucius Sicinius Vellutus , the plebs abandoned Rome for the nearby Monte Sacro . Marius
1845-671: The Aegean Sea . The islands of Chios and Lesbos became commercial stations of Genoa as well as the city of Smyrna (İzmir). Genoa and Pisa became the only states with trading rights in the Black Sea . In the same century the Republic conquered many settlements in Crimea , where the Genoese colony of Caffa was established. The alliance with the restored Byzantine Empire increased the wealth and power of Genoa, and simultaneously decreased Venetian and Pisan commerce. The Byzantine Empire had granted
1968-665: The Corsican Republic was declared in 1755. Eventually relying on French intervention to quash the rebellion, Genoa was forced to cede Corsica to the French in the 1768 Treaty of Versailles . In 1794 and 1795 the revolutionary echoes from France reached Genoa, thanks to Genoese propagandists and refugees sheltered in the nearby state of the Alps, and in 1794 a conspiracy against the aristocratic and oligarchic ruling class developed. However, in May 1797
2091-749: The Duchy of Milan were under the rule of the Spanish Empire . Piedmont returned to the Savoy from France due to the role played by the duke Emmanuel Philibert in the battle of St Quentin during the Italian War of 1551–1559 . The House of Savoy was "Italianized" at the end of the Italian wars, as Emmanuel Philibert made Turin the capital of the savoyard state and Italian the official language. The House of Medici kept ruling Florence, thanks to an agreement signed between
2214-686: The French occupied Tuscany during the spring of 1799 until another peasant uprising drove them out. Jews and suspected Jacobins were lynched en masse by the mob, and the nobility and Church quickly regained power. That fall, the Roman Republic also collapsed and the French were by now virtually cleared from Italy. After seizing power as consul in France, Napoleon launched a renewed invasion of Italy. Milan fell on June 2, 1800 and Austrian defeats there and in Germany ended
2337-712: The House of Bourbon in the War of the Austrian Succession . Consequently, the Republic of Genoa signed a secret treaty with the Bourbon allies of Kingdom of France , Spanish Empire and Kingdom of Naples . On 26 June 1745, the Republic of Genoa declared war on the Kingdom of Sardinia. This decision would prove disastrous for Genoa, which later surrendered to the Austrians in September 1746 and
2460-567: The Imperial Army , after the payment by Genoa of 60,000 florins and 100 scudi for each dead soldier, joining the Republic's soldiers commanded by Camillo Doria. Genoa managed to contain the rebellion, however this did not prove lasting. Another revolt broke out in 1733, causing the Genoese to again appeal to the Emperor, but the Imperial Army was tied up against the French in the ongoing War of
2583-627: The Italian tricolour as a national flag by a sovereign Italian state, the Cispadane Republic , a Napoleonic sister republic of Revolutionary France , took place, on the basis of the events following the French Revolution (1789–1799) which, among its ideals, advocated the national self-determination . This event is celebrated by the Tricolour Day . The Italian national colours appeared for
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#17330924582402706-461: The Lordship of Arsuf , one-third of Caesarea , and one-third of Acre and its port's income. Additionally the Republic of Genoa would receive 300 bezants every year, and one-third of Baldwin's conquest every time 50 or more Genoese soldiers joined his troops. The Republic's role as a maritime power in the region secured many favorable commercial treaties for Genoese merchants. They came to control
2829-578: The Peace of Pressburg , Napoleon recovered Veneto and Dalmatia , annexing them to the Italian Republic and renaming it the Kingdom of Italy . Also that year a second satellite state, the Ligurian Republic (successor to the old Republic of Genoa ), was pressured into merging with France. In 1806, he conquered the Kingdom of Naples and granted it to his brother and then (from 1808) to Joachim Murat , along with marrying his sisters Elisa and Paolina off to
2952-603: The Peace of Westphalia in 1648. This period coincides with the European wars of religion and saw numerous Italians active in other Catholic nations, including de facto rulers of France (such as Catherine de Medici , Mary de Medici , Concino Concini and Jules Mazarin ) and military generals serving under the auspices of the Holy Roman Empire or Spain (such as Torquato Conti , Raimondo Montecuccoli , Ottavio Piccolomini , Ambrogio Spinola and Alexander Farnese ). Despite
3075-573: The Taifa of Denia attacked Sardinia with a fleet of 125 ships. In 1016, the allied troops of Genoa and Pisa defended Sardinia . In 1066, war erupted between Genoa and Pisa – possibly over control of Sardinia. The republic was one of the so-called "Maritime Republics" ( Repubbliche Marinare ), along with Venice , Pisa , Amalfi , Gaeta , Ancona , and Ragusa . In 1087, Genoese and Pisan fleets, led by Hugh of Pisa , and accompanied by troops from Pantaleone of Amalfi , Salerno , and Gaeta , attacked
3198-692: The age of the Genoese . The War of the Spanish succession (1702–1715) and the War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–1720) established the Habsburg monarchy as the dominant power in most of the present day Lombardy and Southern Italy (though the War of the Polish Succession resulted in the re-installment of the Spanish in the south, as the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies ). In this context Victor Amadeus II of Savoy , along with Eugene of Savoy , defeated
3321-681: The capture of Rome , and in 1918 after the First World War respectively); this period of Italian history is known as the Risorgimento . The Italian tricolour waved for the first time in the history of the Risorgimento on 11 March 1821 in the Cittadella of Alessandria , during the revolutions of 1820s , after the oblivion caused by the restoration of the absolutist monarchical regimes. Timeline of Italian history Timeline This
3444-511: The treaty of the alliance was signed in Nymphaeum . On July 25, 1261, Nicaean troops under Alexios Strategopoulos recaptured Constantinople. As a result, the balance of favour tipped toward Genoa, which was granted free trade rights in the Nicene Empire. Besides the control of commerce in the hands of Genoese merchants, Genoa received ports and way stations in many islands and settlements in
3567-510: The " Annales ianuenses ". The Republic of Genoa's governance history is divided into five stages: The republic was substantially democratic in shape, while those of the Podestàs and the Captains of the people strongly restored the often conflicting relationship between the authority and the freedom. The perpetual doges, on the other hand, proclaimed themselves popular, even though sometimes crossing
3690-519: The "old nobility" entrenched in the mountain fastnesses behind Genoa, captured the city on May 30, 1522, and subjected the city to a pillage. When the admiral Andrea Doria of the powerful Doria family allied with the Emperor Charles V to oust the French and restore Genoa's independence, a renewed prospect opened: 1528 marks the first loan from Genoese banks to Charles. Under the ensuing economic recovery, many aristocratic Genoese families, such as
3813-568: The 16th century progressed. The Age of Discovery had shifted the center of trade in Europe from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, and so the Italian states lost much of their previous importance. Venice continued to fight bitterly with the Ottoman Empire for control of outposts in the eastern Mediterranean. It participated in the great naval Battle of Lepanto in 1571, and in the following century battled
History of early modern Italy - Misplaced Pages Continue
3936-572: The Balbi, Doria, Grimaldi, Pallavicini, and Serra, amassed tremendous fortunes. According to Felipe Fernandez-Armesto and others, the practices Genoa developed in the Mediterranean (such as chattel slavery ) were crucial in the exploration and exploitation of the New World. At the time of Genoa's peak in the 16th century, the city attracted many artists, including Rubens , Caravaggio , and van Dyck . The architect Galeazzo Alessi (1512–1572) designed many of
4059-515: The Catholic faith. He and his ministers successfully debated the legateship with the popes and made peace with the Vatican. In the end however, Austrian rule made little lasting impact on Sicily and Spanish troops took possession of the island in 1734. Sardinia also was left to itself and many Spaniards settled on the island, which had an economy mostly based on sheepherding and which had little contact with
4182-450: The Franco-Spanish forces during the Siege of Turin (1706) and later formed the kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia , predecessor state of Italy. The House of Habsburg-Lorraine succeeded the Medici of Florence in 1737 and Venice also became part of Austria with the treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. The Napoleonic era is the link between the Habsburg domination and the Risorgimento . Napoleon 's first military successes took place in Italy, at
4305-408: The French Army of Italy under Napoleon invaded Italy, with the aims of forcing the First Coalition to abandon Sardinia (where they had created an anti-revolutionary puppet-ruler ) and forcing Austria to withdraw from Italy. The first battles came on April 9 between the French and the Piedmontese and within only two weeks Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia was forced to sign an armistice. On May 15
4428-486: The French Revolution erupted, they allied with Austria and Britain against France. Sicily on the other hand experienced peaceful relations with Madrid, as the Spanish largely allowed the island to manage its own affairs. Since it was an important outpost in the Mediterranean as well as a significant trading partner of Spain, friendly ties were valued. After Sicily passed under Austrian rule in 1720, trouble erupted as Vienna stationed permanent garrisons of German-born troops on
4551-419: The French armies and briefly set up a revolutionary government in the Ligurian town of Oneglia. The privileges of the nobility were abolished and the Church establishment replaced by a universalist cult of the Supreme Being. But after Robespierre (whom Bonouarti modeled his government on) fell from power in France, he was summoned back home and his experiment quickly ended. This situation was shaken in 1796, when
4674-438: The French expected them to be obedient satellites of Paris, which included frequent interference in local affairs and massive taxes. Return to the old feudal order was however equally undesirable, and so the republican movement would gradually establish its goals as nationalism and a unified Italian state. After the War of the First Coalition ended, French aggression in Italy continued unabated, and in 1798 they occupied Rome, sent
4797-412: The French general then entered Milan, where he was welcomed as a liberator. Subsequently, beating off Austrian counterattacks and continuing to advance, he arrived in the Veneto in 1797. Here occurred the Veronese Easters , an act of rebellion against French oppression, that tied down Napoleon for about a week. In October 1797 Napoleon signed the Treaty of Campo Formio , by which the Republic of Venice
4920-402: The French revolutionary armies in 1796. The Papal States also lost much of their former power as the Protestant Reformation divided Europe into two camps. The remaining Catholic princes increasingly sought to be the masters in their own houses and often clashed with the papacy over jurdistrictional matters. During the unceasing rivalry between France and Spain, Europe's two great Catholic powers,
5043-424: The German banking houses into chaos and ended the reign of the Fuggers as Spanish financiers. The Genoese bankers provided the unwieldy Habsburg system with fluid credit and a dependably regular income. In return the less dependable shipments of American silver were rapidly transferred from Seville to Genoa, to provide capital for further ventures. From about 1520 the Genoese controlled the Spanish port of Panama ,
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5166-533: The Italian Enlightenment has been Franco Venturi . At the end of the 18th century, Italy was almost in the same political conditions as in the 16th century; the main differences were that Austria had replaced Spain as the dominant foreign power after the War of Spanish Succession (and that too was not true with regards to Naples and Sicily), and that the dukes of Savoy (a mountainous region between Italy and France) had become kings of Sardinia by increasing their Italian possessions, which now included Sardinia and
5289-454: The Italians to fight for Napoleon with his Proclamation of Rimini and was beaten and killed. The Italian kingdoms thus fell, and Italy's Restoration period began, with many pre-Napoleonic sovereigns returned to their thrones. Piedmont, Genoa and Nice came to be united, as did Sardinia (which went on to create the State of Savoy), while Lombardy, Veneto, Istria and Dalmatia were re-annexed to Austria. The dukedoms of Parma and Modena re-formed, and
5412-418: The Kingdom of Sicily. Genoese bankers also profited from loans to the new nobility of Sicily. Corsica was formally annexed in 1347. Genoa was far more than a depot of drugs and spices from the East: an essential engine of its economy was the weaving of silk textiles, from imported thread, following the symmetrical styles of Byzantine and Sassanian silks. As a result of the economic retrenchment in Europe in
5535-471: The Mediterranean and the Black Sea, including Corsica from 1347 to 1768, Monaco , Southern Crimea from 1266 to 1475, and the islands of Lesbos and Chios from the 14th century to 1462 and 1566, respectively. With the arrival of the early modern period , the Republic had lost many of its colonies, and shifted its focus to banking. This was successful for Genoa, which remained a hub of capitalism , with highly developed banks and trading companies. Genoa
5658-423: The Muslims. After the conquest the republic leased out its third of the city to one of its own citizens, Otto de Bonvillano , who swore fealty to the republic and promised to guard the city with three hundred men at all times. This demonstrates how Genoa's early efforts at expanding her influence involved enfeoffing private citizens to the commune and controlling overseas territories indirectly, rather than through
5781-416: The Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815 and the king returned to Naples, he resumed governing as an absolute monarch. Joachim Bonaparte meanwhile pursued an independent policy from France, instituting several reforms that strengthened the middle class in Naples. However, he along with the rest of Napoleon's satellite rulers fell from power in 1814–15. In 1805, after the French victory over the Third Coalition and
5904-406: The Netherlands in the early 17th century. The decline of Spain in the 17th century brought also the renewed decline of Genoa, and the Spanish crown's frequent bankruptcies, in particular, ruined many of Genoa's merchant houses. In 1684 the city was heavily bombarded by a French fleet as punishment for its alliance with Spain. In May 1625, a French-Savoian army briefly laid siege to Genoa. Though it
6027-474: The North African city of Mahdia , the capital of the Fatimid Caliphate . The attack, supported by Pope Victor III , became known as the Mahdia campaign . The attackers captured the city, but could not hold it against Arab forces. After the burning of the Arab fleet in the city's harbor, the Genoese and Pisan troops retreated. The destruction of the Arab fleet gave control of the Western Mediterranean to Genoa, Venice, and Pisa. This enabled Western Europe to supply
6150-407: The Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples returned to the Bourbons. The political and social events in the restoration period of Italy (1815–1835) led to popular uprisings throughout the peninsula and greatly shaped what would become the Italian Wars of Independence. All this led to a new Kingdom of Italy and Italian unification . During the Napoleonic era , in 1797, the first official adoption of
6273-469: The Papal States, reformed the court system, and embellished Rome with many buildings. Gregory XIII introduced the calendar that bears his name, and the papal fleet participated in the Battle of Lepanto. In addition to its loss of political power, the Church came under increasing attack during the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century. As Spain declined in the 16th century, so did its Italian possessions in Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, and Milan. Southern Italy
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#17330924582406396-403: The Philippines and to found the city of Zamboanga upon the conquests of the Sultanates of Sulu and Maguindanao . In this situation Genoese Bankers were thus active in Spain's Mediterranean and New World possessions (Peru, Mexico, and Philippines ). The Genoese banker Ambrogio Spinola, Marquess of Los Balbases , for instance, raised and led an army that fought in the Eighty Years' War in
6519-553: The Polish Succession , and thus declined to intervene. Even before the rebellions, Genoa's control of the island had been loose; the Republic had effectively demilitarized itself, with only 2,000 soldiers (all spread throughout fortifications in Liguria) for a mainland population of about half a million, and law and order on Corsica were very weak, with nearly 900 homicides per 100,000 people there annually from 1701 to 1733. The Genoese government tried to ban private firearm ownership on Corsica without success. A guerilla war would continue on
6642-415: The Pope and Charles V in 1530, and was later recognized as the ruling family of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany by Pope Pius V . The same Pope arranged the Holy League , a coalition of Venice and other maritime states that defeated the invading Ottoman forces at the naval battle of Lepanto (1571). The Papal States launched the Counter-Reformation , which lasted from the Council of Trent (1545–1563) to
6765-399: The Pope into exile, and set up a republic there. When Napoleon left for Egypt, King Ferdinand VI of Sicily retook Rome and reinstated the papacy. But almost as soon as his armies departed, the French returned and occupied Naples. Ferdinand's court was taken into exile by a British fleet. Another republic was set up (the Parthenopean ) which governed in a more radical and democratic fashion than
6888-464: The Republic when in early June, the old elites who had ruled the state for all of its history were overthrown, giving birth to the Ligurian Republic on June 14, 1797, under the watchful care of Napoleonic France. After Bonaparte's seizure of power in France, a more conservative constitution was enacted, but the Ligurian Republic's life was short—in 1805 it was annexed by France, becoming the départements of Apennins , Gênes , and Montenotte . With
7011-419: The Republic, while the other 60 galleys were rented to individuals. More than 15,000 mercenaries were hired as rowmen and soldiers. The Pisan fleet avoided combat, and tried to wear out the Genoese fleet during 1283. On August 5, 1284, in the naval Battle of Meloria the Genoese fleet, consisting of 93 ships led by Oberto Doria and Benedetto I Zaccaria , defeated the Pisan fleet, which consisted of 72 ships and
7134-413: The Seas'), and la Repubblica dei magnifici ('the Republic of the Magnificents'). After the fall of the Western Roman Empire , the city of Genoa was invaded by Germanic tribes, and, in about 643, Genoa and other Ligurian cities were captured by the Lombard Kingdom under the King Rothari . In 773 the Kingdom was annexed by the Frankish Empire ; the first Carolingian count of Genoa was Ademarus, who
7257-419: The Spanish Netherlands, in North Africa, on the fleet—on the Invincible Armada (1588), too—and in Central and South America, with very good results. The War of the Spanish Succession saw control of much of Naples and Sicily pass from Spain to Austria, with the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713. However, the Spaniards regained Naples and Sicily following the Battle of Bitonto in 1738. Spanish and Austrian hegemony
7380-447: The Spanish crown's foreign endeavors from their counting houses in Seville. Fernand Braudel has even called the period 1557 to 1627 the "age of the Genoese", "of a rule that was so discreet and sophisticated that historians for a long time failed to notice it". However, the modern visitor passing brilliant Mannerist and Baroque palazzo facades along Genoa's Strada Nova (now Via Garibaldi) or via Balbi cannot fail to notice that there
7503-402: The Turks in the Cretan War , when it gained control of the Peloponnese in Greece but lost Crete , Venice's largest and richest overseas possession . Venice experienced one last great martial triumph by helping to defeat the Ottoman Empire in the war of 1683–1699. By the 18th century, economic activity dwindled as the city withdrew in on itself and fell into stagnation, becoming easy pickings for
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#17330924582407626-459: The War of the Second Coalition. Austria retained only control of Venetia, while France dominated the whole rest of northern Italy, leaving only the weak papal and Neapolitan states in the south. Napoleon over the next few years coalesced his Italian possessions into a single Republic of Italy, ruled by one Francesco Melzi d'Eril. But in 1805, he decided to convert the republic into a kingdom ruled by his stepson Eugene D'Beauharnais. The Kingdom of Italy
7749-404: The church of San Siro in order to gather troops for the First Crusade . Twelve galleys , one ship, and 1,200 soldiers from Genoa joined the crusade. The Genoese troops, led by noblemen de Insula and Avvocato, set sail in July 1097. The Genoese fleet transported and provided naval support to the crusaders, mainly during the siege of Antioch in 1098, when the Genoese fleet blockaded the city while
7872-439: The city's splendid palazzi . In the next 50 years, other palazzi were designed by Bartolomeo Bianco (1590–1657), designer of centrepieces of the University of Genoa . A number of Genoese Baroque and Rococo artists settled elsewhere and a number of local artists became prominent. Thereafter, Genoa underwent something of a revival as a junior associate of the Spanish Empire, with Genoese bankers, in particular, financing many of
7995-400: The city's traditional feudal lords. Cardinal Michael Friedrich von Althann next became viceroy (1722–1728), but upset the nobility (already reeling from imperial taxes) and the middle class with his pro-clerical stance. Althann's downfall came by attempting to establish a state bank (the Banco di San Carlo) with the intention of acquiring crown lands for the Austrian emperor. He infuriated both
8118-473: The control of John of Anjou , a French royal governor. However, with support from Milan, Genoa revolted and the Republic was restored in 1461. The Milanese then changed sides, conquering Genoa in 1464 and holding it as a fief of the French crown. Between 1463–78 and 1488–99, Genoa was held by the Milanese House of Sforza . From 1499 to 1528, the Republic reached its nadir, being under nearly continual French occupation. The Spanish, with their intramural allies,
8241-490: The country. After 1600, however, Italy experienced an economic decline. In 1600 Northern and Central Italy comprised one of the most advanced industrial areas of Europe. There was an exceptionally high standard of living. By 1814 Italy was an economically backward and depressed area; its industrial structure had almost collapsed, its population was too high for its resources, its economy had become primarily agricultural. Wars, political fractionalization, limited fiscal capacity and
8364-430: The death penalty in Tuscany and reduced censorship. From Naples Antonio Genovesi (1713–69) influenced a generation of southern Italian intellectuals and University students. His textbook "Diceosina, o Sia della Filosofia del Giusto e dell'Onesto" (1766) was a controversial attempt to mediate between the history of moral philosophy, on the one hand, and the specific problems encountered by 18th-century commercial society, on
8487-405: The earliest banks in the world were founded in Genoa: the Bank of Saint George , founded in 1407, which was the oldest state deposit bank in the world at its closure in 1805, and the Banca Carige , founded in 1483 as a mount of piety , which existed until 2022 Threatened by Alfonso V of Aragon , the Doge of Genoa in 1458 handed the Republic over to the French, making it the Duchy of Genoa under
8610-484: The end of the apogee of Italians' support for Napoleon, because many Italians died in this failed campaign. After Russia, other states of Europe re-allied themselves and defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig , after which his Italian allied states, with Murat first among them, abandoned him to ally with Austria. Defeated at Paris on April 6, 1814, Napoleon was compelled to renounce his throne and sent into exile on Elba. The resulting Congress of Vienna (1814) restored
8733-452: The establishment in Italy was totally hostile to the ideas coming out of France and harsh crackdowns were launched on dissent. As early as 1792, French armies had penetrated Italian soil, and that same year, the impoverished Piedmontese peasants warned their king that he might too face justice as had happened to Louis XVI in France. The middle class in Rome revolted against the Vatican's political power, and their counterparts in Venice along with
8856-521: The fall of Napoleon, and the subsequent Congress of Vienna , Genoa regained an ephemeral independence, with the name of the Repubblica genovese , which lasted less than a year. However, the congress established the annexation of the territories, and therefore of the whole of Liguria with the Oltregiogo area and the island of Capraia to the Kingdom of Sardinia , governed by the House of Savoy , contravening
8979-551: The first port on the Pacific, founded by the conquest of the Americas. The Genoese obtained a concession to exploit the port mainly for the slave trade of the new world on the Pacific, which lasted until the sacking and destruction of the original city in 1671. In the meantime in 1635 Don Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera , the then governor of Panama, had recruited Genoese, Peruvians, and Panamanians, as soldiers to wage war against Muslims in
9102-461: The first time on a tricolour cockade in 1789, anticipating by seven years the first green, white and red Italian military war flag , which was adopted by the Lombard Legion in 1796. With the fall of Napoleon (1814) and the restoration of the absolutist monarchical regimes , the Italian tricolour went underground, becoming the symbol of the patriotic ferments that began to spread in Italy and
9225-495: The future of Italy, and, on casting up the final accounts of his reign, we find that the net loss is for France and the net profit is for Italy. Frederick Artz emphasizes the benefits the Italians gained: The Italian Wars saw 65 years of French attacks on the Italian states, starting with Charles VIII's invasion of Naples in 1494. However the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis (1559) saw about half of Italy (the south and Milan) fall under
9348-665: The gold that traveled up through the Sahara and establishing Atlantic depots as far afield as Salé and Safi . In 1283 the population of the Kingdom of Sicily revolted against the Angevin rule. The revolt became known as the Sicilian Vespers . As a result, the Aragonese rule was established on the Kingdom. Genoa, which had supported the Aragonese, was granted free trading and export rights in
9471-648: The head of the Armée d'Italie , and he later styled himself as President of Italy and King of Italy . Italy became part of the French sphere of influence but Napoleon, given his Italian ethnicity, was appreciated by most Italian intellectuals, among them the writer Alessandro Manzoni . The Restoration that followed the French defeat wasn't able to erase the political and legislative innovations brought to Italy by Napoleon. French historian Hippolyte Taine stated: Napoleon, far more Italian than French, Italian by race, by instinct, imagination, and souvenir, considers in his plan
9594-571: The intent of the Genoese jacobins and French citizens to overthrow the government of the Doge Giacomo Maria Brignole took shape, giving rise to a fratricidal war in the streets between opponents and popular supporters of the current customs system. The direct intervention of Napoleon (during the Campaigns of 1796 ) and his representatives in Genoa was the final act that led to the fall of
9717-484: The island until it was sold to France in 1768. The Convention of Turin of 1742, in which Austria allied with the Kingdom of Sardinia , caused some consternation in the Republic. However, when this provisional relationship was given a more durable and reliable character in the signing of the Treaty of Worms , in 1743, the fear of diplomatic isolation had caused the Genoese Republic to abandon its neutrality and to ally with
9840-407: The island's failing grain and silk industries. But the emperor could not offset an economic downturn that was beyond his control, and many of his projects proved unfeasible, ultimately causing a near-total economic meltdown. Charles had a tricky religious situation in Sicily where the king traditionally served as apostolic legate, which he sought to maintain at all costs while also promising to defend
9963-454: The island, provoking frequent and violent confrontations with the local populace. The corruption and backwardness of Sicilian society made it difficult to establish a working government, and much like Naples Sicily was forced to pay massive taxes and tribute to Vienna. However, Emperor Charles VI attempted to build up Sicily's economy by turning Messina and other locations into important ports so as to attract foreign commerce, as well as shore up
10086-447: The late fourteenth century, as well as its long war with Venice , which culminated in its defeat at Chioggia (1380), Genoa went into decline. This pivotal war with Venice has come to be called the War of Chioggia because of this decisive battle which resulted in the defeat of Genoa at the hands of Venice. Prior to the War of Chioggia, which lasted from 1379 until 1381, the Genoese had enjoyed
10209-490: The lords of the surrounding valleys and coasts. The new city-state was termed a Compagna Communis. The local organization remained politically and socially significant for centuries. As late as 1382, the members of the Grand Council were classified by both the compagnia to which they belonged as well as by their political faction ("noble" versus "popular"). Before 1100, Genoa emerged as an independent city-state , one of
10332-409: The majority of free trading rights to Genoa. In 1282 Pisa tried to gain control of the commerce and administration of Corsica , after being called for support by the judge Sinucello who revolted against Genoa. In August 1282, part of the Genoese fleet blockaded Pisan commerce near the river Arno . During 1283 both Genoa and Pisa made war preparations. Genoa built 120 galleys, 60 of which belonged to
10455-507: The newly established Latin Empire meant that Venetian trading rights were enforced, and Venice gained control of a large portion of the commerce of the eastern Mediterranean. In order to regain control of the commerce , the Republic of Genoa allied with Michael VIII Palaiologos , emperor of Nicaea , who wanted to restore the Byzantine Empire by recapturing Constantinople . In March 1261
10578-402: The nobility and middle class with this ill-conceived campaign, and after his expulsion Naples suffered several tumultuous years of famine and social unrest, with international problems preventing any attempt at administrative reform. It was with relief that the Spanish born Don Carlos ascended the throne of a reborn Kingdom of Naples in 1734. In 1759, he left to become King Charles III of Spain and
10701-430: The nobility denounced that city's government. However, most of these protests accomplished little outside of Piedmont and Naples, and in the south a conspiracy hatched by pro-republican Freemasons was discovered and the ringleaders executed. Dozens of dissenters fled to France in the aftermath of the trials. One of these dissenters, Filippo Buonarroti, a member of an ancient Tuscan noble family, returned to Italy along with
10824-420: The north-western region of Piedmont . The French Revolution had attracted considerable attention in Italy since its beginning, inasmuch as the reform attempts of enlightened despots throughout the 18th century proved largely abortive. Masonic lodges sprang up in large numbers during this period where radical changes were discussed by the intelligentsia, away from the clumsy efforts mentioned above. Predictably,
10947-554: The oligarchy; finally the fifth republic was institutionally aristocratic. By custom, prelates in Genoa were unable to take on public office. In the first two centuries from the institution of the Dogate for life in Genoa, it was above all the Adorno (seven doges elected) and Fregoso (ten doges elected) families who fought the position. After the reform of 1528, among the seventy-nine "biennial Doges" who came to power, many were elected from
11070-521: The other. It contained the greater part of Genovesi's political, philosophical, and economic thought – guidebook for Neapolitan economic and social development. Science flourished as Alessandro Volta and Luigi Galvani made break-through discoveries in electricity. Pietro Verri was a leading economist in Lombardy. Historian Joseph Schumpeter states he was ‘the most important pre-Smithian authority on Cheapness-and-Plenty’. The most influential scholar on
11193-464: The others. But Ferdinand skillfully organized a counterrevolt led by his agent Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo, who landed in Italy and rallied a peasant mob, which then retook Naples and proceeded to pillage and destroy the manor homes of the hated nobility. There were also mass murders of bourgeois who had supported the French. Afterwards, Ferdinand returned to his capital in triumph. 100 revolutionary leaders were summarily tried and executed. In northern Italy,
11316-497: The popes often acted as mediators. Relations with Paris deteriorated sharply during the reign of Louis XIV, until he and the papacy found common ground in suppressing Jansenism. Even in Italy itself, the political importance of the Papal States declined. The Counter-Reformation popes largely concerned themselves with religious matters and church reform, and so had little time for politics. They worked to fight brigandage, long endemic in
11439-529: The princes of Massa-Carrara and Guastalla . In 1808, he also annexed Marche and Tuscany to the Kingdom of Italy. In 1809, Bonaparte occupied Rome, and conflicted with the pope, who had excommunicated him. To maintain the efficiency of the state he exiled the Pope first to Savona and then to France, and taking the Papal States' art collections back to the Louvre . The conquest of Russia that Napoleon undertook in 1811 marked
11562-535: The principle of restoring the legitimate governments and monarchies of the old Republic. The history of Genoa, of the Genoese and of the republic that held its fate for a long time, but also of the governments that gradually took turns leading the city, to reach the time of the Doges, is traceable through the work of historians who have continued the storytelling work begun at the end of the 11th century by Caffaro Di Caschifellone (historian and himself municipal consul) with
11685-537: The provocations of the Duke of Orléans and the former Duke of Milan , the Doge of Genoa Antoniotto Adorno made Charles VI of France the difensor del comune ("defender of the municipality") of Genoa. Though the republic had previously been under partial foreign control, this marked the first time Genoa was dominated by a foreign power. Though not well-studied, Genoa in the 15th century seems to have been tumultuous. The city had
11808-533: The republican administration. In 1148, it joined the Siege of Tortosa and helped Count Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona take that city, for which it also received a third. Over the course of the 11th and particularly the 12th centuries, Genoa became the dominant naval force in the Western Mediterranean, as its erstwhile rivals Pisa and Amalfi declined in importance. Genoa (along with Venice) succeeded in gaining
11931-430: The rest of Italy. Corsica passed from the Republic of Genoa to France in 1769 after the Treaty of Versailles . Italian was the official language of Corsica until 1859. The Enlightenment played a distinctive, if small, role in 18th century Italy, 1685–1789. Although large parts of Italy were controlled by conservative Habsburgs or the pope, Tuscany had some opportunities for reform. Leopold II of Tuscany abolished
12054-845: The rule of the Spanish Habsburgs. They would be replaced by the Austrian Habsburgs with the war of the Spanish succession in 1700. The Council of Italy in Madrid controlled the Spanish viceroyalties in Italy, while a special section of the Aulic council in Vienna was sovereign over the Imperial fiefs in Italy . Italian troops served throughout Europe for the catholic side in the age of the European Wars of Religion . They fought in Germany, in France, in Italy,
12177-807: The shift of world trade to north-western Europe and the Americas were key factors. Following the Peace of Cateau Cambrésis (1559), France renounced its claims in Italy. Some of the Italian states were under the rule of powerful dynasties: the Medici in Tuscany, the Farnese in Parma, the Este in Modena, and the Savoy in Piedmont. Nearly half of Italy, the kingdoms of Naples , Sicily and Sardinia and
12300-506: The state's extinction in 1797, the ruler of the republic was the Doge , originally elected for life, after 1528 elected for terms of two years; in practice, the Republic was an oligarchy ruled by a small group of merchant families, from whom the doges were selected. The Genoese navy played a fundamental role in the wealth and power of the Republic over the centuries and its importance was recognized throughout Europe. To this day, its legacy as
12423-505: The symbol which united all the efforts of the Italian people towards freedom and independence. Between 1820 and 1861, a sequence of events led to the independence and unification of Italy (except for Veneto and the province of Mantua , Lazio , Trentino-Alto Adige , Friuli and Julian March , known as Italia irredenta , which were united with the rest of Italy in 1866 after the Third Italian War of Independence , in 1870 after
12546-569: The troops of the First Crusade of 1096–1099 by sea. In 1092, Genoa and Pisa, in collaboration with Alfonso VI of León and Castile attacked the Muslim Taifa of Valencia . They also unsuccessfully besieged Tortosa with support from troops of Sancho Ramírez , King of Aragon . Genoa started expanding during the First Crusade . In 1097 Hugh of Châteauneuf , Bishop of Grenoble and William , Bishop of Orange , went to Genoa and preached in
12669-510: The troops provided support during the siege. In the siege of Jerusalem in 1099, Genoese crossbowmen led by Guglielmo Embriaco acted as support units against the defenders of the city. After the capture of Antioch on May 3, 1098, Genoa forged an alliance with Bohemond of Taranto , who became the ruler of the Principality of Antioch . As a result, he granted them a headquarters, the church of San Giovanni, and 30 houses in Antioch. On May 6, 1098
12792-729: The victory at Lepanto, the Venetians gradually lost its Eastern Mediterranean possessions (including Cyprus and Crete) to the Ottomans. Venice captured the Peloponnese during the Great Turkish war (1683–1699), but the land was ceded back after the last of the Venetian-Ottoman Wars . When the Seven Years' War broke out, Venice was left out of the concert of great powers: the same, however,
12915-496: The war raged, Austria imposed huge tax burdens on the city and did not begin to provide it with any adequate administration until peace returned. Graf von Daun (viceroy of Naples from 1713 to 1719) attempted several reforms, but came into dispute with the church over jurisdictional matters. He largely succeeded in making peace with Rome, but international strife caused the Austrian emperors to impose more taxes on Naples and neglect all but
13038-422: Was "hardly more than a fishing village" or a vibrant trading town worth attacking. In the year 958, a diploma granted by Berengar II of Italy gave full legal freedom to the city of Genoa, guaranteeing the possession of its lands in the form of landed lordships. At the end of the 11th century the municipality adopted a constitution, at a meeting consisting of the city's trade associations ( compagnie ) and of
13161-581: Was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages , it was a major commercial power in both the Mediterranean and Black Sea . Between the 16th and 17th centuries, it was one of the major financial centres in Europe. Throughout its history, the Genoese Republic established numerous colonies throughout
13284-459: Was annexed to the Austrian state, dashing Italian nationalists' hopes that it might become an independent state. This treaty gave Austrian recognition to the existence of the Cisalpine Republic (made up of Lombardy , Emilia Romagna and small parts of Tuscany and Veneto), and annexed Piedmont to France. Even if, like the other states created by the invasion, the Cisalpine Republic was just
13407-409: Was briefly occupied before a revolt liberated the city two months later. The Austrians returned in 1747 and, along with a contingent of Sardinian forces, laid siege to Genoa before being driven off by the approach of a Franco-Spanish army. Though Genoa retained its lands in the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle , it was unable to keep its hold on Corsica in its weakened state. After driving out the Genoese,
13530-440: Was conspicuous wealth, which in fact was not Genoese but concentrated in the hands of a tightly knit circle of banker-financiers, true " venture capitalists ". Genoa's trade, however, remained closely dependent on control of Mediterranean sealanes, and the loss of Chios to the Ottoman Empire (1566), struck a severe blow. The opening for the Genoese banking consortium was the state bankruptcy of Philip II in 1557, which threw
13653-515: Was elected consul for the first of three years in a row. Civil wars would follow with the first breaking out in 238, another in 249 followed by a third in 253. From 235 through 284 the average reign of a Roman Emperor was just 18 months, down from average just over 9 years during the first centuries of the Empire. Genoese Empire The Republic of Genoa ( Ligurian : Repúbrica de Zêna [ɾeˈpybɾika de ˈzeːna] ; Italian : Repubblica di Genova ; Latin : Res Publica Ianuensis )
13776-521: Was eventually lifted with the aid of the Spanish , the French would later bombard the city in May 1684 for its support of Spain during the War of the Reunions . In-between, a plague killed as many as half of the inhabitants of Genoa in 1656–57. Genoa continued its slow decline well into the 18th century, losing its last Mediterranean colony, the island fortress of Tabarka , to the Bey of Tunis in 1742. In
13899-441: Was given the title praefectus civitatis Genuensis . During this time and in the following century Genoa was little more than a small centre, slowly building its merchant fleet , which was to become the leading commercial carrier of the Western Mediterranean. In 934–35 the town was thoroughly sacked and burned by a Fatimid fleet under Ya'qub ibn Ishaq al-Tamimi . This has led to discussion about whether early tenth-century Genoa
14022-402: Was gradually expanded as Austria relinquished Venetia in 1806 and other bits of territory were added. Still other Italian regions were annexed directly into France. In 1809, the French reoccupied Rome and took Pope Pius VII prisoner. Ferdinand VI's dominions in southern Italy remained independent for the first few years of the 19th century, but they were too weak to resist a concerted attack, and
14145-413: Was impoverished, stagnant, and cut off from the mainstream of events in Europe. Naples was one of the continent's most overcrowded and unsanitary cities, with a crime-ridden and volatile populace. The Neapolitan aristocracy long resented Spanish rule and welcomed the arrival of the Austrians in 1707. However, they were disappointed as Vienna continued the practice of not allowing any autonomy to Naples. While
14268-742: Was known as la Superba ("the Superb One"), la Dominante ("The Dominant One"), la Dominante dei mari ("the Dominant of the Seas"), and la Repubblica dei magnifici ("the Republic of the Magnificents"). From the 11th century to 1528, it was officially known as the Compagna Communis Ianuensis and from 1580 as the Serenìscima Repùbrica de Zêna ( Most Serene Republic of Genoa). From 1339 until
14391-450: Was led by Albertino Morosini and Ugolino della Gherardesca . Genoa captured 30 Pisan ships, and sank seven. About 8,000 Pisans were killed during the battle, more than half of the Pisan troops, which were about 14,000. The defeat of Pisa, which never fully recovered as a maritime competitor, resulted in gain of control of the commerce of Corsica by Genoa. The Sardinian town of Sassari , which
14514-524: Was not always based on direct rule; states such as Venice , Genoa , the Papal States , the duchies of Este , and Duchy of Savoy , were the only independent states, while a large part of the rest of Italy relied on the protection of Spain or Austria against external aggression. Furthermore, those areas under direct Spanish and (later) Austrian control were theoretically independent principalities bound to Spain and Austria through personal unions alone. Italy began to experience an economic and social decline as
14637-549: Was officially known as the Compagna Communis Ianuensis and from 1580 as the Serenìscima Repùbrica de Zêna (the Most Serene Republic of Genoa) or also Repubblica di Genova ( Latin : Res Publica Ianuensis , Ligurian : Repúbrica de Zêna ). It was nicknamed by Petrarch as La Superba , in reference to its glory and impressive landmarks. For over eight centuries the republic was also known as la Dominante ('The Dominant one'), la Dominante dei mari ('the Dominant of
14760-464: Was so innocuous, however, as medieval Genoa became a major player in the slave trade . The commercial and cultural rivalry of Genoa and Venice was played out through the thirteenth century. The Republic of Venice played a significant role in the Fourth Crusade , diverting "Latin" energies to the ruin of its former patron and present trading rival, Constantinople . As a result, Venetian support of
14883-666: Was succeeded by his son Ferdinand, who was underage and so government was left to the regent Bernardo Tanucci. In the spirit of the Enlightenment, Tanucci attempted to establish a benevolent despotism by a series of reforms and weakening the power of traditional Neapolitan institutions. Ferdinand came of age in 1767, but had little interest in government and was largely dominated by his wife the Archduchess Maria Carolina, who disliked Tanucci's pro-Spanish stance and managed to replace him with Sir John Acton, an English emigre. When
15006-754: Was true for the Venetian mediterranean rivals such as the Ottoman Empire ( sick man of Europe after centuries of warfare) and the Genoese who had lost its possessions in the Aegean Sea, in Tunisia, and, later, Corsica. The crisis of Genoa led to the crisis of Spain, as the Republic of Genoa was a key ally of the Spanish Empire since the 16th century, providing credit and economic support for the Habsburgs in what has been described as
15129-415: Was under Pisan control, became a commune or self-styled "free municipality" which was controlled by Genoa. Control of Sardinia, however, did not pass permanently to Genoa: the Aragonese kings of Naples disputed control and did not secure it until the fifteenth century. Genoese merchants pressed south, to the island of Sicily, and into Muslim North Africas, where Genoese established trading posts, pursuing
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