Page 38 - Mellinato, Giulio, and Aleksander Panjek. Eds. 2022. Complex Gateways. Labour and Urban History of Maritime Port Cities: The Northern Adriaticin a Comparative Perspective. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 38
plex Gateways
location is concerned, the port of Genoa, despite its favourable position
in the centre of the Mediterranean, was definitely not a necessary tran-
sit point on the maritime routes crossing the Tyrrhenian Sea. Actually,
it held a relatively back-seat position, in the most northern part of the
Ligurian Gulf. Also, from a geomorphological point of view, it cannot be
considered to be a natural port, since breakwater dams are necessary to
protect it from the winds – especially a south-western wind called the
libeccio – and continuous dredging is required due to its shallow draft.
This latter problem is caused by debris brought by rivers and streams run-
ning through the city from the Apennines behind it, and flowing into
the harbour. This mountain range dividing Liguria from the Po Valley,
while, on the one hand, a natural protection against possible enemy in-
vasions, on the other hand slowed down communication with the hin-
terland. Indeed, only winding paths crossed the Apennines, along which
goods were transported exclusively on pack animals with great difficul-
ty, especially in winter.
Apart from difficult communication with the hinterland, resources
for the sustenance of the population were scarce, due to the almost total
lack of farming land. As is well known, in the modern age the extent of a
city’s subsistence area was closely linked to its size and number of inhab-
itants. In the case of Genoa, which at the time had about 50–60,000 in-
habitants, it included the whole of the Genoa Republic territory. In this
regard, the following two factors must be taken into account: trade be-
tween the city and the Riviere (its Eastern and Western coasts) was con-
ducted exclusively by sea, and locally produced resources were not suffi-
cient. Because of their modest land yields, Genoese hinterland peasants
never tried intensive farming, but tilled the land only for their own con-
sumption. Therefore, for its survival, Genoa had to resort to maritime
trade and, in particular, to the import of food and raw materials for local
manufacturers (Massa Piergiovanni 1995, 71–88).
At the same time, however, the above situation was also both a driv-
er and an opportunity to develop thriving trade, re-exporting these prod-
ucts as well as selling local, made-in-Liguria goods abroad. For example,
the production of silk velvets and damasks would employ raw silk from
Sicily, Spain, and the East; metalworking was based on iron ore imported
from the Elba Island; while for paper production, rags had to be imported
from all over the Italian peninsula and from abroad. The high cost of raw
materials was a common feature of all these industries, whose products
38
location is concerned, the port of Genoa, despite its favourable position
in the centre of the Mediterranean, was definitely not a necessary tran-
sit point on the maritime routes crossing the Tyrrhenian Sea. Actually,
it held a relatively back-seat position, in the most northern part of the
Ligurian Gulf. Also, from a geomorphological point of view, it cannot be
considered to be a natural port, since breakwater dams are necessary to
protect it from the winds – especially a south-western wind called the
libeccio – and continuous dredging is required due to its shallow draft.
This latter problem is caused by debris brought by rivers and streams run-
ning through the city from the Apennines behind it, and flowing into
the harbour. This mountain range dividing Liguria from the Po Valley,
while, on the one hand, a natural protection against possible enemy in-
vasions, on the other hand slowed down communication with the hin-
terland. Indeed, only winding paths crossed the Apennines, along which
goods were transported exclusively on pack animals with great difficul-
ty, especially in winter.
Apart from difficult communication with the hinterland, resources
for the sustenance of the population were scarce, due to the almost total
lack of farming land. As is well known, in the modern age the extent of a
city’s subsistence area was closely linked to its size and number of inhab-
itants. In the case of Genoa, which at the time had about 50–60,000 in-
habitants, it included the whole of the Genoa Republic territory. In this
regard, the following two factors must be taken into account: trade be-
tween the city and the Riviere (its Eastern and Western coasts) was con-
ducted exclusively by sea, and locally produced resources were not suffi-
cient. Because of their modest land yields, Genoese hinterland peasants
never tried intensive farming, but tilled the land only for their own con-
sumption. Therefore, for its survival, Genoa had to resort to maritime
trade and, in particular, to the import of food and raw materials for local
manufacturers (Massa Piergiovanni 1995, 71–88).
At the same time, however, the above situation was also both a driv-
er and an opportunity to develop thriving trade, re-exporting these prod-
ucts as well as selling local, made-in-Liguria goods abroad. For example,
the production of silk velvets and damasks would employ raw silk from
Sicily, Spain, and the East; metalworking was based on iron ore imported
from the Elba Island; while for paper production, rags had to be imported
from all over the Italian peninsula and from abroad. The high cost of raw
materials was a common feature of all these industries, whose products
38
