The Doge of Genoa was the head of state of the Republic of Genoa, a city-state and soon afterwards a maritime republic, from 1339 until the state's extinction in 1797. Originally elected for life, after 1528 the Doges were elected for terms of two years.
The Republic was ruled by a small group of merchant families, from whom the doges were selected.
Doge of Genoa
The Palace of the Doges; view from Piazza Matteotti.
Simone Boccanegra
Giacomo Grimaldi Durazzo
The Republic of Genoa 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 Sea and the Black Sea. Between the 16th and 17th centuries, it was one of the major financial centers in Europe.
The Siege of Antioch, 1098.
Galata Tower (1348) in Galata, Istanbul.
The Genoese fortress in Sudak, Crimea.
A view of Genoa and its fleet by Christoforo de Grassi (1597 copy, after a drawing of 1481); Galata Museo del Mare, Genoa.