Province: Genoa

Owners Title: Console

% of Worldwide          0.6%                    Starting Population     175                     

Population                                                                                      

% of Worldwide          0.5%                    Starting Income         3,003                   

Income                                                                                          

% of Worldwide GDP      0.3%                    Starting GDP            17,705                  

% of Worldwide          0.8%                    Starting Surplus        273
                     

Surplus                                                                                         

Language: I2

Kingdom: HRE:Italy

Industrial Fief

Starting Owner: Simon Boccanera (287)

Starting Overlord : Simon Boccanera (287)

Regional Location: Ireland Central Italy

Comments: Genoa is a republic on the Riviera, between the Ligurian Alps and the sea. As early as the 5th century B.C. the city which lies at the heart of the republic was a place of commercial importance and a center of the Ligurians. Passing under Roman rule over two centuries before Christ, it continued to prosper with only occasional interruptions. The fall of Rome in the 5th century brought it many difficulties, but it weathered numerous Barbarian assaults (whether German, Lombard, or Arab), and eventually emerged as free city within the Holy Roman Empire, a status more technical than real.

The city prospered as a result of the Crusades, and by the 13th century had begun to expand overseas, securing dominion over Sardinia and Corsica and many important islands and ports in the Aegean, taken from the dying Byzantine Empire. In 1284 Genoa thoroughly defeated its principal maritime rival in the west, Pisa, and since then has fought a series of wars with Venice over control of Levantine trade. Although it has of late been subject to some internal disorder, due to rivalries among the princely families and tensions between the orders, the city is rich and powerful. It has its own Archbishop and a university. In addition to shipping and banking, there is some luxury trade, and the city is the center of a moderately fertile agricultural region.