Genoa (Italy) was technically a communal republic in the early Middle Ages, but in actuality it was an oligarchy ruled by a small group of merchant families, from whom were selected the Doges of Genoa. Alternate uses, see Genoa (disambiguation). ... Community is a set of people (or agents in a more abstract sense) with some shared element. ... In a broad definition a republic is a state or country that is led by people that dont found their political power on any principle beyond the control of the people living in that state or country. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Oligarchy is a form of government where most political power effectively rests with a small segment of society (typically the most powerful, whether by wealth, military strength, ruthlessness, or political influence). ... Merchants function as professional traders, dealing in commodities that they do not produce themselves. ...

The first doge ("duke") of Genoa, Simone Boccanegra, whose name is kept alive by Verdi's opera, was appointed by public acclaim in 1339. Initially the Doge of Genoa was elected without restriction and by popular suffrage, holding office for life in the so-called "perpetual dogate"; but after the reform effected by Andrea Doria in 1528 the term of his office was reduced to two years. At the same time plebeians were declared ineligible, and the appointment of the doge was entrusted to the members of the great council, the Gran Consiglio, who employed for this purpose a political system almost as complex as that of the later Venetians. The term duke is a title of nobility which refers to the sovereign male ruler of a Continental European duchy, to a nobleman of the highest grade of the British peerage, or to the highest rank of nobility in various other European countries, including Spain and France (in Italy, principe... Giuseppe Verdi, by Giovanni Boldini, 1886 (National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome) Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (October 10, 1813 – January 27, 1901) was one of the great composers of Italian opera. ... Simon Boccanegra is an opera by Giuseppe Verdi. ... Events Emperor Go-Murakami ascends to the throne of Japan Births Duke Rudolf IV of Austria, the Founder, on November 1 Deaths Emperor Go-Daigo of Japan Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, on February 17 Categories: 1339 ... See Election (movie) for the film directed by Alexander Payne. ... This article Andrea Doria refers to the Genoese admiral of the 15th and 16th centuries. ... Events June 19 - Battle of Landriano - A French army in Italy under Marshal St. ... Figures of speech and shorthands are called terms of language. ... In Ancient Rome, the plebs was the general body of Roman citizens, distinct from the privileged class of the patricians. ... A Council is a group of people who usually possess some powers of governance. ... Location within Italy Venice is known for its waterways and gondolas Venice (Italian Venezia), the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto, population 271,663 (census estimate 2004-01-01). ...

The Palazzo Pubblico, where the doges had formerly presided, was expanded in 1388 to accommodate the new ruler and style of government, the first of a series of radical reconstructions. It was renamed the Palazzo Ducale and magnificently rebuilt in the 16th century. Until recently the palazzo housed courts, but it now functions as Genoa's cultural center. Events Beginning of prosecution of Lollards in England The Battle of Otterburn between England and Scotland Births Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... This article is about courts of law. ... The word culture comes from the Latin root colere (to inhabit, to cultivate, or to honor). ...

Of all the "perpetual" doges of Genoa who ruled for their lifetime, only one ruled for more than eight years. Many resigned or were driven out before taking office: some failed to complete a single day in power. Between 1339 and 1528, only four doges were legally elected. "Genoese doges were essentially faction leaders, in charge of the defence of Genoa and her territory," Christine Shaw has said. "Some of them liked to see themselves as effectively lords of the city, but they were not.". Genoa did not trust its doges; they tied them to executive committees, kept them on a small budget, and kept them apart from the communal revenues held at the "Casa di san Giorgio". Not surprisingly, the Doges of Genoa have been less renowned than the Doges of Venice. Events Emperor Go-Murakami ascends to the throne of Japan Births Duke Rudolf IV of Austria, the Founder, on November 1 Deaths Emperor Go-Daigo of Japan Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, on February 17 Categories: 1339 ... Events June 19 - Battle of Landriano - A French army in Italy under Marshal St. ... For some thousand years, the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice was the Doge (Duke). ...

Still, the position of Doge stood at the head of state patronage, and the city's inner group of leading merchant families vied with each other to place their man in the position. Rival elections were known to take place within the building. In 1389 a frustrated candidate made a surprise return from enforced exile accompanied by 7,000 supporters, and after dining amicably with the incumbent, politely but firmly ejected him, thanking him for serving so ably as his deputy during his own unavoidable absence from Genoa. Events February 24 - Margaret I seizes Albert, thus becoming ruler of Denmark, Norway and Sweden June 15 - Battle of Kosovo between Serbs and Ottomans. ...

For generations two powerful families in Genoa all but monopolized the dogate: the Adorno, supporters of Imperial power in the Middle Ages, and the Campofregoso or Fregoso, supporters of Papal power. Tomaso Campofregoso became Doge three times: in 1415, 1421 and 1437. In 1461, Paolo Fregoso, archbishop of Genoa, enticed the current doge to his own palace, held him hostage and offered him the choice of retiring from the post or being hanged. When Fregoso was in due course himself toppled, he fled to the harbor, commandeered four galleys and launched himself on a whole new career as a pirate. While the Doge's Palace in Venice accumulated great furnishings and works of art over the years, in Genoa, each doge was expected to arrive with his own furnishings and, when he left, to strip the palace to its walls. Adorno (front right) and Horkheimer (front left); Habermas in back, right. ... Events Friedrich I Hohenzollern (b. ... Events March 21 - Battle of Baugé. A small French force surprises and defeats an English force under Thomas, Duke of Clarence, a brother of Henry V of England, in Normandy. ... Events foundation of All Souls College, University of Oxford. ... Events February 2 - Battle of Mortimers Cross - Yorkist troops led by Edward, Duke of York defeat Lancastrians under Owen Tudor and his son Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke in Wales. ... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop heading a diocese of particular importance due to either its size, history, or both, called an archdiocese. ...

Genoa's power peaked early, and it was eclipsed by Venice. In the 16th century the republic enjoyed a dramatic revival under the leadership of the admiral, statesman and patron of the arts Andrea Doria who ruled the state as a virtual dictator but never actually became doge. It was through the Spanish empire in the New World that genoa became rich again. Doria served the Spanish Habsburgs as admiral-in-chief, and the bankers of Genoa handled Spain's financial business, which vastly enriched Genoa's banking oligarchy. (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... This article Andrea Doria refers to the Genoese admiral of the 15th and 16th centuries. ...

The Napoleonic Wars put an end to the office of doge at Genoa. In 1797, when Napoleon Bonaparte incorporated Genoa into the newly organized Ligurian Republic, French soldiers and the city's mob ransacked the Doge's Palace. The Napoleonic Wars lasted from 1804 until 1815. ... 1797 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Bonaparte as general Napoleon Bonaparte ( 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution and was the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from November 11, 1799 to May 18, 1804, then as Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français... Ligurian Republic and Northen Italy, 1801 The Ligurian Republic was a short-lived French satellite republic formed by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796. ... The word mob has its origins in the 1600s when it was formed from the latin mobile vulgus, meaning a vacillating crowd. ...

Some doges of Genoa

• 1339: Simone Boccanegra
• 1415: Tomaso Campofregoso
• 1421: Tomaso Campofregoso (2nd time)
• 1437: Tomaso Campofregoso (3rd time)

  This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doges_of_Genoa&action=edit).

Events Emperor Go-Murakami ascends to the throne of Japan Births Duke Rudolf IV of Austria, the Founder, on November 1 Deaths Emperor Go-Daigo of Japan Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, on February 17 Categories: 1339 ... Events Friedrich I Hohenzollern (b. ... Events March 21 - Battle of Baugé. A small French force surprises and defeats an English force under Thomas, Duke of Clarence, a brother of Henry V of England, in Normandy. ... Events foundation of All Souls College, University of Oxford. ...

External links

• Complete list of Genoese Doges at the "Regnal Chronologies" website (http://www.hostkingdom.net/noritaly.html#Genoa)
• History of the Ligurian Republic, 1797 - 1805 (http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/italy/ligurian.html)