Maritime republics
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The maritime republics, also called merchant republics, were Italian thalassocratic states which, starting from the Middle Ages, enjoyed political autonomy and economic prosperity brought about by the
Meloria, the theatre of the 1284 battle which saw Genoa's victory over Pisa
The chains of the port of Pisa, removed by the Genoese after the battle of Meloria and returned as a sign of Italian brotherhood in two different moments of the Risorgimento: in 1848 and in 1860
The maritime republics built the ships they needed in their own arsenals. Pictured is the Venetian Arsenal.
A galley carrying pilgrims to the Holy Land - from the travelogue of Conrad Grünenberg
Republic of Ragusa
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The Republic of Ragusa was an aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik in South Dalmatia in Southern Europe. It carried that name from 1358 until 1808, reaching its commercial
Maritime republics
…Navy and the Italian Merchant Navy: Amalfi, Genoa, Pisa, and Venice. In addition to the four best known cities, Ancona, Gaeta, Noli, and, in Dalmatia, Ragusa, are also considered maritime republics; in certain historical periods, they had no secondary importance compared to some of the better known cities…
Dubrovnik before the 1667 earthquake
Painting of Dubrovnik from 1667
A merchant from the Republic, 1708
Ragusan tallero (1½ ducat) of 1752 with the effigy of a former Rector