Cristoforo Colombo (Christopher Columbus) Niccolò Paganini Goffredo Mameli Castles and Fortifications
1897
2000
Many locations in both east and west Liguria are fighting for
this honour, including Genoa, Chiusano and Cogoleto, while the town of Moconesi
in the Fontanabuona valley has a building marked as "the house of the ancestors
of Columbus". However, this tradition does not seem to be supported by the name
of Columbus's parents, who are named in historical documents as Domenico "from
Quinto" and Susanna Fontanarossa "from Quezzi". According to many historians,
one of Columbus's ancestors moved from the Fontanabuona Valley to Quinto: this
is why an itinerary that traces that journey is called the "Columbus" itinerary.
What is certain is that the Columbus family lived in Genoa before the birth of
Christopher, which occurred in 1451. His father Domenico belonged to the guild
of master wool makers and had five children. He went to Savona on business and
later moved there with his family in 1470 or thereabouts. Christopher did not
follow in his father's footsteps but embarked as a cabin boy, perhaps in the
port of Noli, when he was very young.
Besides his practical navigation experience, which he increased with journeys
all over the Mediterranean to the Genoese colonies and also along the Atlantic
coast of Africa, he also studied cartography: there were many cartographer's
workshops in Savona and his brother Bartolomeo may have worked in one of these.
Christopher became increasingly convinced that he could cross the Atlantic in
the direction of the parallels, on the basis of his experience, the seagoing
knowledge of his time and an intuitive insight for the best routes for the
outgoing and homecoming voyage.
Once he had planned the voyage, Columbus went to Lisbon to ask the king to
finance his adventure. Since he was unsuccessful, he went to the king and queen
of Castille: at first they refused but then decided to finance his huge expenses
for shipping and crew. Moreover, he was promised a percentage of the riches if
his voyage was successful and would also be made "Admiral of the Ocean" and
Viceroy of the lands he conquered.
On 3 August 1492 Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos with his three
galleons. He reached his destination on 12 October of the same year. Convinced
that he had reached the eastern coast of India, he called the local natives
Indians. His return aroused great enthusiasm throughout Spain. But soon Columbus
found himself having to deal with jealousy and envy at court because of the
great privileges that had been promised to him by the queen, who died shortly
afterwards, leaving Columbus without protection. Intrigues and slander, which
were encouraged by the near-failure of his subsequent journeys and by problems
with the natives, led to his imprisonment. He was eventually released with
honour but he was no longer in a position to defend his privileges against the
young aristocrats who were demanding the right to exploit the wealth of the
"Indies". He died in 1506 in Valladolid without ever realising that he had
discovered a new continent: only some years later did the maps of the world also
show the Americas.
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Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini was born in Genoa on 27 October 1782 in a street called Passo
della Gatta Mora, in the heart of the old town centre. He had an extremely
precocious musical talent: it is said that he was moved when hearing the organ
in the church of San Lorenzo and could not stop dancing when he heard the church
bells ringing. His father, a mandolin player, realised that he had a natural
talent for music and sent him to study the guitar and violin, quite sure that he
would be famous one day. At the age of nine, he played his first sonata, "la
Carmagnola", in the Sant'Agostino theatre and was given an enthusiastic applause
and his first taste of fame. His father's far-sightedness meant that he was able
to go to Parma and perfect his studies with a famous conductor. When he reached
the musician's house, the maid let him in and informed him that the director was
ill in bed: little Niccolò nevertheless began to play. The maestro came down and
embraced him, telling him that he could teach him nothing. Despite this and
other flattering appraisals, Paganini practised patiently and humbly for many
years, with the constant encouragement of his father: it was due to his intense
studies that he had such a pallid complexion and the wild-looking eyes that
earned him the nickname of "devil". However, the young musician accepted the
nickname in good spirit and amused himself by giving decidedly Gothic titles to
his works, such as "the Witches" and "the devil's tremolo".
The anecdotes regarding his virtuosity are numerous. On one occasion, when he
was the guest of Princess Baciocchi, he was playing the violin when two of the
strings broke, yet this did not prevent him from continuing to play admirably.
At the request of the princess, he broke a third string and continued to play
with only one string to the amazement of all those present. From that time on,
whenever anyone asked him to play an encore, he replied: "Paganini does not do
repeats". How could he repeat pieces that other violinists were not even able to
play once? Besides his fame as a musician, he soon acquired fame as a seducer.
He received widespread acclaim all over Europe and after his death his "devil's"
body remained in unconsecrated ground for five years before finally being buried
inside the cemetery.
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Goffredo Mameli
The "soldier poet" Goffredo Mameli was born in Piazza San Bernardo in Genoa in
1827: his father was a vice-admiral of the Sardinian navy of noble origin and
his mother came from an old Riviera family. Of a rather frail constitution,
Goffredo was often ill as a child until the age of twelve. The Mameli
drawing-room was regularly frequented by young intellectuals with liberal ideas:
one of these was a lawyer named Giuseppe Canale, who recognised the young boy's
gifts and followed his studies until he began to attend the school run by the
Scolopian brotherhood. When he finished school he enrolled in the Faculty of
Philosophy and graduated brilliantly in 1847. He shared the patriotic fervour of
many of his young contemporaries and joined the Entellic Society. In May 1847 he
read his poetry for the first time in public and in September of the same year
he composed the national anthem "Fratelli d'Italia", which "surged out of his
heart in the springtime of his youth and of our revolution", as Giosuè Carducci
wrote. After his meeting with Mazzini, he became totally dedicated to the
Italian cause: on the occasion of the five days in Milan, he made a speech
urging the crowd to follow him and managed to gather a contingent of three
hundred men. At the age of 21 he was proclaimed captain: Nino Bixio was 27 and
was his lieutenant. He fought in the first war of independence. He was also on
the front line with Garibaldi's men at Luino and Morazone. He later
distinguished himself in the defence of the Republic of Rome at Gianicolo and at
Velletri but was wounded in the leg on 3 June 1849 at Villa Corsini. He was by
now too weak to have his leg amputated: he died on 6 July 1849, three days after
the end of the brief Republic of Rome. A memorial stone on the house where he
was born commemorates a poet who was great - if not for the literary qualities
of his verse then certainly for the passion and feelings that he was able to
arouse in his fellow compatriots.
The castles and fortresses built in many coastal and hinterland locations
after the tenth century responded to two needs: defence, as in the case of the
fortresses built on the hills around Genoa, and celebration, as in the case of
the castles built to emphasise the dominion of noble families over various
territories. Even the ecclesiastical authorities did not limit themselves to
building churches: one notable example is the case of the bishop's palace in
Castelnuovo Magra, which was built just outside the ancient castle of Santa
Maria between 1273 and 1274 by Bishop Enrico da Fucecchi.
Many castles decayed and gradually fell to ruin once their original function was
redundant, while others were restored (some in quite recent times) to their
ancient splendour. Many of those who designed and built castles were people of
great importance.
There are numerous examples of wonderful castles that have remained intact. The
Castle of Pietra di Vobbia is unique because of its perfect integration between
two natural pudding-stone "bulwarks". The Priamar Fortress in Savona is one of
the most impressive coastal fortifications in the entire region; the Doria
Fortress at Portovenere stands in a more elevated position. Sarzana is known as
the town of the two fortresses: the fort of Castruccio Castracani, on the upper
ground, and the fort of Firmafede in the town centre. Villanova d'Albenga is a
fortified town built to defend the entrance to the Arroscia and Lerone Valleys
on the plain of Albenga.