Genoa; How the Republic Rose and Fell

Front matter

CONTENTS. xi

. : * . ; ‘ PAGE D’Oria appointed to the command—Victory ever Venctians‘at Sapienza

—Genoa’s factions stand in her way—Positio of the two republics before theis final straggle—Tenedos forms a point of dispute—Miserable ; dissensidns at Constantinople complicate matters—Carlo Zeno and his document—Pola captured by Luciano D’Oria—On his death Pietro D’Oria sent from Genoa—Capture of Chioggia by Tiynocse~-Dismay ‘n *“Venice—Embassy of Genoese prisoners fails to soften D’Oria’s heart+~ -Insolent' message— Preparations for last struggle—Vettor Pisani and Carlo Zeno together save Venetians from abandoning their town— D’Oria,in his turn besieged in Chioggia—Venice gets allies-—Génoese taken prisoners to the Piazza S$. Marco— All traces of Genoese driven from the Adriatic—Peace restored, and the rivalry virtually at an‘end . 7 54

Contents

xv

—Greek colonists—Rebellious condition of Corsica for .the succeeding century and a half—Climax of open war in 1729—Harshness of the governor Pinelli —Ceccaldi and Giafferi—Austrian contingent—Constitution of 1735—British assistance—Desperate condition of the island—Two célebrated men—/ésunré of Genoese career in Corsica.

Part JI. —Extraordinary arrival of Baron Theodor von Neuhoff in Corsica

Chapter I. Genoa In The Olden Time

Se dit estre en biens la plus heureuse,

La plus forte et la plus vertueuse,

Chronique de Génes, sixteenth century.

EARLY in the fourteenth century’a ship sailed past the city of Genoa on her way to France; on board was an elderly merchant accompanied by two young boys. The elderly merchant was Francesco Petrarca, the father of the gifted poet ; and of the two boys, one was the future disciple of the muses, and the other was his bosom friend and college companion, Guido Scettem, for many years an honoured archbishop of Genoa.

Full fifty years after this event Petrarch, then old and crowned with laurels, writing to his friends in Genoa, thus describes these boyish memories, reproaches Genoa for her endless wars and factions, and therewith introduces us to a glowing picture of the Ligurian capital in her palmiest days. “Dost. thou remember,” he wrote, “that time when the :

RB le : 2 GENOA; HOW THE REPUBLIC ROSE AND FELL.

Genoese were the happiest people upon earth, their country appeared a celestial residence even as the Elysian fields are painted? From the side of the sea, what an aspect it presented! Towers which seemed to threaten the firmament, hills covered with olives and oranges. Marble palaces perched on the summit of the rocks, with delicious retreats beneath them, where art conquered nature, and at the sight of which the very sailors checked the splashing of their oars, all intent to regard. Whilst the traveller who approached by land with amazement beheld men and women right royally adorned, and luxuries abundant in mountain and in wood unknown elsewhere in royal courts. As the foot touched the threshold of the city it seemed as if it had reached the temple of happiness, of which it was said, as of Rome of old, ‘ This is the city of the kings.’ ”._

Under the banner of the sad cross, and the emblem of St. George, countless galleys left this port of Genoa day by day to bring back from far distant lands the wealth of India, China, and the East. No port or harbour of the then known world was unvisited by them ; from Moorish Spain, from England, Flanders, and the far north they brought back cargoes of merchandize, which they had got in exchange for the silks and spices of the East. In a word, these ‘medieval Italian re- -publics, Genoa, Pisa, and Venice, re-wove the web of international intercourse which barbaric hordes had broken, Again might Italy have ruled the world, had not the constant rivalry between her commercial cities stood in her way.

Of the towers mentioned by Petrarch but few are seen to-day. Of the marble palaces of the poet’s days the squalid remains of many may be visited even now. But if we would contemplate a Genoese palace in all its magnificence we must wander in spirit to far distant days.

Let us then enter a Genoese palace which once stood on the summit of Carignano, approached through lovely terraces and hanging gardens, rich with oranges and lemons, and playing fountains. Glorious is the view over distant mountains and deep blue sea, from the one limit of the republic’s territories even to the other, from Nice to the Gulf of Spezia, the whole length of that glorious “ Cornice” is here spread out before-the view, a rich and gilded “ frame,” for the blue. waters of the Mediterranean, in which Genoa regards her blushing beauty as in a mirror, and is at once its chief corner-stone and its pride.

The palace of Vialata was its name. Early in the sixteenth century ‘Sinibaldo Fieschi was its lord, a man of untold wealth, a descendant of the noble family of Lavagna, whose ancestors had held high offices in Genoa during her greatest prosperity, Two popes, seventy-two cardinals, and full three hundred mitred heads had gore forth from this family. Kings had been allied to them by marriage, and kings had here been their guests. When staying here, Louis XIf. of France had been greatly struck with its magnificence. “More fitted for a monarch,” he said it was; and probably far more luxurious than any palace of his own.

It was built of marble, in courses of black and white, for the Fieschi family was one of the honoured four? who alone shared with the municipality the right of thus adorning the exterior of their dwellings. Large towers flanked it on either side, battlemented and adorned with statues in niches. A courtyard, covered with bas-reliefs by skilful workmen, led to a vestibule, the ceiling of which was brilliant with a fresco representing Jove hurling down the giants from Olympus. In the centre was a furnace for melting silver and coining money, a privilege which the Fieschi had enjoyed from the year 1249, by imperial grant.2. Each room was a fresco study in itself, and from here the artists of this glorious age took copies for their work. A halcyon’s nest floating on the bosom of a Peaceful sea illustrated the tranquillity then enjoyed by this

1 They were the Fieschi, Doria, Spinola, and Grimaldi. * Canale, “ Conjuira dei Fieschi.”

family. Sinibaldo’s loves and aspirations were depicted on the walls by the best artists; in short this palace was the sanctuary of learned men: hither repaired the poet, the artist, and the sculptor, and were always welcomed at the Fieschi’s hospitable board. Hard by, a little black and white marble church, of perfect Lombardo-Gothic design, was the temple of the family, built by a cardinal of this house, and named by him S. Maria in Vialata, after his diocese in Rome.

From Vialata numerous subterranean passages lead down to the sea and without the walls, for the Fieschi’s bark did not always float on such peaceful waters, and though this palace had extraordinary immunities from-the pursuit of justice, such as only churches elsewhere enjoyed, nevertheless the Fieschi often found it expedient to retire to their mountain fastness of Montobbio, where they had a stronghold which combined with defence all the delicacies and luxuries of art. The end of all this grandeur is typical of Genoa herself. Sinibaldo’s son conspired against Prince Andrea D'Oria,! and his palace on Carignano was levelled with the ground, and a stone inscription was put up to testify to his infamy. What now is Montobbio save a bed of thistles and | briars? Where now is Vialata, of which not oné stone is seen, save a desecrated church, shorn of its tower, its objects of art scattered, and handed over to a timber merchant as a warehouse for his stores?

‘In the dusky narrow streets of Genoa lines of marble palaces speak of her bygone glory. Here, amidst dim squalor and decay, where on a starlight night but one or two of the twinkling orbs can be descried between the overhanging eaves, ~ is the cradle of Genoa’s greatness. He who would see Genoa aright must dive into these narrow bypaths. There it was that the rich merchants coined and lavished their earlier gains, It was not till Genoa was in her decadence that foreign artists were summoned to beautify and widen some of her streets

1 Vide ch. xiii.

with the hoarded capital for which she had no other outlet ; her colonies had gone from her, her commerce was rapidly going, and in the hands of an aristocratic government at home her end was slowly though steadily approaching. An English traveller in the seventeeth century? describes these narrow streets thus,—“ Genoa. looked in my eye like a proud young lady ina straight-bodied, flowered gown, which makes her look tall indeed and fine, but hinders her from being at ‘her ease and taking breath freely !”

These old and fast disappearing palaces form a perfect study of Genoese domestic architecture ; there are the gateways, befitting entrances to the frescoed Halls within, each with its carved lintel in the black’ slate-marble of Lavagna, perchance representing St. George in his mythical ‘contest with the dragon, or perhaps a triumphal car drawn by festive bacchanals ; others, again, more modest, have only a festoon of grape leaves over their door, whilst others indulge in coats of arms and monograms, and have thin cords of marble as door-posts, The vestibules are generally profusely decorated with rows of pillars and frescoed roofs, whilst elegant marble staircases, perhaps with lions or griffins resting at the base of sculptured bannisters, lead to the upper stories, and in not a few cases are the walls ornamented with a rich “dado” of Savona tiles. ‘ All these things may be seen in a disjointed fashion to-day. Some bits here and there give us an idea of what the whole once was. But all is bathed in squalor and misery ; and if perchance you detect some exquisite architectural gem, it is because the plaster which hid it has fallen off, and Italian laziness has not found time to replace the curtain of cement. As another distinctive feature of thesé old buildings, we see the marked division between the first and second stories by a row of little gothic arches, which when, as formerly, carried out in their entirety, must have given an air of relief to the 1 Lassel’s Voyage in Italy.

streets to which the straight stalwart edifices of modern days are strangers. Curious devices of the Agnus Dei, and coats of arms, are thrown at haphazard against the -walls, whilst

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GATEWAY IN THE PIAZZA DI S, MATTEO, outside each palace of the richer merchants we can still see the “ loggie,’ or raised platforms, where the family used to walk to and fro during stated hours of the day, and transact their business with their clients. From one of these which stili remains in the Piazza S, Matteo, Andrea D’Oria harangued his countrymen when he seized the government in 1528.) ,

But it was not on their palaces alone that the Genoese lavished their gold; none loved so dearly as they did a gay street life. To garland their houses with flowers and to witness from open windows amidst festoons and streaming banners, the numerous processions, religious or municipal, was’ the height of a Genoese lady’s ambition, in fact, almost her sole dissipation. Those unfortunate Genoese ladies, indeed, have been much maligned by the biting proverb describing Genoa as possessing “a sea without fish, mountains without wood, men without a conscience, and women without honour.” But Boccacio has stood up for them bravely in the second day of his Decameron. Boccacio, who was only too thankful for a handle wherewith to introduce some scandal, represents some Italian merchants in Paris, who over supper discuss the virtue of their wives. Bernabo Lomellini, from Genaa, alone scorns to believe that his absent consort is any. thing but faithful, loving and true, Let us hope that Lomellini’s confidence was not misplaced, and that all Genoese matrons were like his, so that to their innocent amusement of watching a procession we may accompany them without being compromised, |

We must again waft ourselves back a couple of centuries if we would witness a procession in all its glory, before the companies of the “cassacie” had degenerated into a mere vulgar display of some political feeling, and before the lavish flow of unstinted wealth had ceased to pour into the coffers of the twenty-one confraternities, who vied with one another in displaying a profusion of all that was ‘rich in velvets, brocades and gilded apparel.

On a bright morning of the 3rd of May let us take up our position in one of those decorated balconies which surround

1 Vide ch. xii.

the cathedral’s little square. On this day, in anticipation of

e “Cassacie” procession, Genoa is stirred to her basis, and the inhabitants are prepared to enjoy a right merry festival with their friends, who have come from far, all eager to behold this annual profusion of wealth displayed in their streets. A hundred thousand spectators formed what was considered an average concourse, and twenty thousand actors figured in the procession, which took ten hours in its tour through the city.

On a dais erected at the cathedral door sit the chancellor and vice-chancellor of the ceremony, whose duty it is- from early dawn to settle all disputes for precedence between the twenty-one brotherhoods, who are to figure in the scene. Here they sit the livelong day, giving orders and directions about the coriservance of the peace, and though the least ornamental part of the ceremony, their office is by no means a sinecure. Each confraternity has its patron saint, each confraternity has its oratory, and the programme of their proceedings has been posted about the city walls some days

_ before, and on the morning of this day each brotherhood has assembled at its oratory to’ adorn itself for the coming pantomime. Excitement is now at its highest stretch, What novelty wilf be produced for them this year? is the eager question from the balconies ;.and as the bells. begin to ring and a distant hum is heard, fair necks sparkling with diamonds peer forth to catch the first glimpse of the moving show.

At length, heralds with brazen trumpets and crimson hose announce the advent of the coming host.. Each of the twenty-one confraternities is divided into separate bodies, varying in number according to their wealth, and each body has its uniform, and a mighty crucifix (the figure on which is life size), generally made of tortoise-shell, and with silver fittings, and large silver flowers at the ends. After each “ Cassacia” is carried their “cassa,” which represents some mystery or some miracle of their saintly protector, in which each figure is

GENOA IN THE OLDEN TIME. 9 life-size, and sometimes ten to twelve figures in each. Full - forty men in gay liveries labour under the burden of this colossal “ machine,” as it is called, all surrounded with flaming tapers and flowing banners. These figures are all the work and arrangement of some eminent artist, and are truly grotesque in their results. For here we see St. John the Baptist, the headsman, Herod, and his court, each and all of them dressed in sumptuous golden robes; whilst the confraternity of St. James follows with its patron saint, represented on horseback with his lance directed against a troop of Turks: his aspect is benign, his stirrups are of silver, his accoutreménts are of crimson velvet embroidéred with gold, and at his side is fastened -a richly inlaid pair of pistols. More humble confraternities content themselves with the figures of hermits and anchorites. All these “casse” are carried by the porters of thé custom-house, whose monopoly it: is, and as they approach the cathedral steps, a sudden mighty tush is made, and pell-mell they enter the sacred edifice, there to take-up their appointed stations.

Thirty children dressed as pilgrims pave the way for each confraternity, chanting hymns in the Genoese dialect. Each child has his pilgrim’s staff, and his black dress adorned with gold and silver ; likewise his gourd and hat, and loaves of bread are tied younal his girdle. Many other youthful performers are got up'as Roman soldiers, in armour magnificently resplendent, and “with wings of cardboard which sweep the ground.

Each religious order has likewise its accompanying band of penitents, whose robes are of silver and brocaded gold, their capes are of crimson, blue, or violet velvet with wide embroidery, and their staves are each surmounted by a figure of their Protector, full fifteen inches high, of massive silver. The penitents of St. Francis, for instance, have a robe of the order’s colour, and a thick cord around their waists, with knots as large as ostrich eggs, naked feet, and a crown of thorns upon

1o GENOA; HOW THE REPUBLIC ROSE AND FELL.

their heads ; whilst in their hands they carry a death’s head and cross bones procured for the occasion from a neighbouring cemetery.

But of all the actors in this scene, the cross-bearers are considered of most account. As much as twenty. pounds would sometimes be paid to a confraternity for the honour of carrying one of those massive crucifixes; the skill consisted in‘ turning the cross adroitly from side to side, and by a spring to mount the steps at the cathedral door with one.bound— the heavier the crass the greater the honour attached to the bearer. In this acrobatic feat the noble young men of Genoa vied with one another ; they wore sandals on their feet, like capuchins, but with gay silver-buckles attached to prove that they were the reverse of poor priests. Sometimes in one procession as many as one hundred and fifty crosses would be carried, each with a band of minstrels playing chosen airs in its train.

But what of these “ Cassacie”? What gave origin to such a pompous display of religious mockery? In 1256, when Italy was devastated by wars, pestilences, and famines, certain companies called the “ flagellants” appeared to appease the wrath of Heaven by publicly scourging themselves and parading the streets almost naked, and with blood gushing from self-inflicted wounds. When this revival reached Genoa, it was espoused by the order of S. Lazzaro, a company whose vocation it was to visit the leprous patients, and strange sights indeed did they enact in Genoa. Men and women rushed madly about the streets until the pavement was bespattered with their gore, and many sank down to die under the weakness incident on the loss of blood and the consequences of a feverish excitement. And these.very men were the originators of this pompous scene we have just witnessed. As time went on the penitential fanatics found it necessary to adopt some garb; thcy chose a long, flowing, blue robe, and hid their heads in hoods with holes for their eyes. This is still to

GENOA IN THE OLDEN TIME. II be seen in the streets of Genoa as the livery of the “ Misericordia ” brethren, who are at the beck and call of the inhabitants to remove them to the hospital and alleviate their _ sufferings, and whose hooded visage and stealthy step causes the stranger a cold shudder of some unknown dread. But the advocates of penitence did not long continue their scourging, their nakedness, and their works of piety. If a few remained faithful to the origin of their establishment and took diligently to tending the sick and other Samaritan works, by far the greater number preferred to continue the idea of the flagellants under the disguise of a burlesque. Thus were numerous companies, “ Cassacie,” as they were'éalled in Genoa, founded’; and each company thought fit to build itself an oratory, with which the town is still filled. In 1410, there were no less than thirteen of these. They held their meetings year by year, and soon ended in rivalry and display of wealth such as we have seen. In 1622, from a book in which the rules were laid down for those who went to dine with the confraternity of S. Lazzaro, we learn that there were then no Jess than twenty-one of these orders, and thus they remained till this century, when they made themsclves so objectionable as secret societies for political purposes, and their processions gave rise to such disturbances, that they were suppressed by order of the Sardinian Government,

The poor old biennial Doge, too, from his prison in the Ducal palace, was often the object of much panoply and display. For the prudent lawgivers of Genoa saw fit to act’as jailors to their supreme magistrate, and for the privilege of appearing once or twice in his royal robes and ermine mantle the old man had to pay the penalty of two years’ imprisonment, with hard labour to boot, But when an occasion required his presence in the outer world, he made the best amends he could for his seclusion ; he robed himself in purple velvet ; he had pages to carry his rounded hat, with a sort of curved proboscis at the top, as may be seen in old pictures ; he had another page to carry a parasol if necessary and the sun was

hot. All the nobility walked respectfully behind him in file,

each with a gay attendant lacquey ; but if it chanced to rain,

the, old gentleman and his noble friends were carried in sedanchy rs, and their magnificence was greatly curtailed.

“Some of the ceremonies by which the Doge was victimized were highly ridiculous ; how they dressed him on the day of his coronation, like the royal puppet that he was, to receive the homage of Genoa’s fair dames ; and at a banquet held on the evening of this day, all the newly-married ladies sat on his right, and thus did he bid a tender farewelf to the outer world and the allurements of the fair. Henceforth for his two years of office he was forced to live a life of monastic severity. Twice only in the year was he allowed the pleasure of contemplating himself in his royal crown and ermine mantle ; twice only could he feel himself every inch a king—once on the anniversary of the foundation of the statutes,’ by Andrea D’Oria, and once on the day of Genoa’s patron saint, the brave St. George. In our poet Gray’s time (1739) the Doge was “a very tall, lean, stately old figure, called Constantino Balbi, and the senate seem to have been made upon the same model.” The ducal ceremonies struck Mr. Pepys, too, as very quaint, who tells us in his diary, that after two years of great state and panoply, “a messenger is sent to him, who stands at the bottom of the stairs and he at the top, and says, ‘ Your most

illustrious serenity is expired, and you can retire home,’ and then claps on his hat; and the old Doge, having by custom sent his goods home before, walks away, it may be with but one man at his heels, and the new one is brought immediately in his room in the greatest state in the world.”

On the eve of the Nativity the Doge and his attendant nobles went through another curious ceremony. The neigh-' bouring peasantry of the Val di Bisagno had from time immemorial been a right loyal people to their Genoese masters,

1 Vide ch. xii.

and on Christmas-eve these country folks elected their new « abbot” or governor for the ensuing year. By the banks of their river the people assembled ; two fine-sized stones were placed close to one another, and the retiring abbot in toga and beretta stood on one, whilst the newly-appoirtted functionary occupied the other, receiving from his piedecessor the standard of St. George, and some sage advice which. was administered to him. This ceremony concluded, these loyal peasantry proceeded in a body, with their magistrate, to pay their respects to the Doge,in Genoa, and take him their annual present. It was a handsome trunk of a tree, covered with branches, and decked with such flowers as the season afforded, after the fashion”of a modern Christmastree. This they put in a cart drawn by two or more oxen, and, attended by the magistrate, a notary, a senator, and a large concourse of people, it was conducted in triumph to Genoa. On reaching the ducal palace they deposited their gift in the courtyard. Thé Abbot of Bisagno went to inform the Doge of it. “Well found, Messer Doge,” says he; and “Welcome, Messer Abbot,” replies. the Doge; and after . mutual wishes for a merry Christmas, the abbot exchanges a bouquet of flowers for the more substantial gift of bankgotes worth a:hundred francs, and returns with his followers to his home. :

The ceremony of accepting this strange Christmas-box, presented him by his loyal subjects, was enacted by the Doge at the dead of night, as follows. Before retiring to rest the Doge and members of the council stole quietly down the steps of the ducal palace with lighted torches in their hands. His ducal eminence then proceeded to set fire to the tree, which blazed right merrily, and into the flames they cast a vase of good wine, some comfits, and some sugar. Weird must have been the sight of these venerable lawgivers of Genoa standing round the flaming tree with their long flowing robes and lighted torches. None of Macbeth’s witches round their steaming cauldron could have presented a more awe-inspiring appearance. This curious ceremony was abolished by the later Doges as entailing too much expense; and the bouquet of flowers, accompanied by protestations of fidelity, was accepted in its stead.

“The very existence of this Doge in Genoa was solely due to the love men by nature have for royal display, and the craving they feel for a head on which they may place a crown. He was entirely without power ; he signed obediently everything the council made him, and was brought out on holidays and festivals as the pet plaything of Genoa,.which the prudent senators would not allow too often in her hands for fear of her becoming weary of the same. . After his two years of office he retired without ceremony into private life, and another puppet was elected in his stead.

Genoa was not unfrequently the hostess of foreign potentates, and this afforded her inhabitants an opportunity for a more extended parade of their wealth, The Emperor Charles V. twice paid a visit to the Ligurian capital, and on the last occasion was sumptuously entertained by his. trusted admiral Prince Andrea D’Oria, who, from the frequency with which he received crowned heads under his roof, won for himself the sobriquet of the “ royal innkeeper.”

Let us glance at the noble palace of Fassuolo, where Prince D’Oria had just perfected his most princely residence ; and the freshness of the first bloom of those wondrous frescoes by Pierino del Vaga, the pupil of Raphael, had not yet worn off, on which he had lavished all the excellence of a talent which rivalled his master’s in colouring and boldness of design. Montorsoli, the pupil of Michel Angelo, was its architect ; and so lovely was this palace, with its hanging gardens and terraces down to the water's edge, that the Emperor on landing stood speechless to admire. In accordance with the etiquette of the day, Prince D’Oria laid everything at the feet of his imperial guest. Contrary to his wont .

on such occasions, Charles received the proffered gift, instead of graciously refusing. Whether this was to Andrea’s liking we are not told, but at length the emperor relieved him from all anxiety by adding that Prince D’Oria should keep all these wonderful things in trust for whomsoever of the emperor's houschold freak or fortune might lead to visit Genoa. ;

As a delicate surprise for the emperor, Andrea D’Oria prepared a gorgeous entertainment in an arbour erected at the end of a corridor leading to the sea. Carpets and tapestries from Flanders concealed the walls and floors, and whilst the emperor was held in close conversation, this magnificent bower glided gently into the middle of the harbour, for it was none other than one of D’Oria’s galleys which had been anchored so as seemingly to form part Of the corridor. The imperial surprise had hardly subsided before heavily laden tablés were spread on all sides, groaning under the rarest viands brought by Genoese ships from all quarters of the globe. The attendants were all dressed as sea-gods, and to the strains of soft music the guests quaffed the choicest vintage, and glided: slowly across the waves.

Each course was served on massive silver dishes, and as each was removed, the remnants of the feast, silver dishes and all, were cast into the sea. Such profusion and waste at first sight savours much of prodigality ; but Andrea D’Oria was no such fool. Though lavish in the extreme and dearly loving pomp, he likewise was loath to waste his wealth when by a little ingenuity. he could avoid it. So accordingly he had nets spread. under the galleys to catch the dishes as they fell ; and when the emperor had departed, they were fished up again for future use. Perhaps he learnt this plan from the rival republic of Venice, where report says that the doge, in his annual visitations to wed the Adriatic with a golden ring, was equally careful to recover the property bestowed on his watery bride. -

Thus Genoa and her princes entertained their royal guests, thus did she glory in her name of “the superb,” and right well did she deserve it. For though her population was essentially mercantile, a population on whom the proud courtiers of Germany and Spain looked down with supreme contempt, yet they had that amongst them which could make many a monarch tremble ; and their purse-strings weighed far heavier in the scale of European politics than many a royal diadem.