Il palazzo di San Giorgio, Genova

Luigi Speranza

THE brightest jewel in the diadem of "Genoa the Superb" is the old red brick building standing down by the water's edge, jutting out its loggia into the all too narrow roadway, and demoralising the traffic of Ponte Reale.

That such an institution as the Bank of St. George could have existed, much less prospered, where townspeople and foreigners alike sowed

"sedition up and down the city; Picking up discontented fools, belying The senators and government; destroying Faith among honest men, and praising knaves" is one of the most perplexing features in the life of the state. . for amid all the turmoil of external and civil upheavals the Bank pursued its unwavering course; inspiring confidence, supplying funds when the State Treasury was exhausted, and taking over the management of the Colonies whenever the Republic itself was unable to protect them from the attacks of enemies.

The building was not erected for the purposes of the Bank, for properly speaking the organisation of the public debt did not take place until the ruddy brickwork was already softening its harsh outlines under the influence of time. It was only in 1451 that the ownership of the Palace was invested in the Governors of the Bank.

It had been erected as the Palazzo del Capitano by Guglielmo Boccanegra, the first to hold that office, in 1260; a fact which is duly set forth in an inscription 1 over the door, and from which we learn that the architect was a certain monk named Oliverius, to whom is also attributed the commencement of the Molo Vecchio. That the work was not finished when Boccanegra's rule ended so abruptly in 1262 is shown by the lions' heads which were taken from the Venetian fortress at Pantocratore in that year, and are built into the northern fagade just over the arches of the loggia, to bear witness of a time when the Genoese held their own successfully against their rivals in the Adriatic. And as though the Republic desired not to lose an opportunity of proclaiming her victories, we may still see between the grimacing lions the holes in which were secured the fragments of Pisa's harbour chain.

Externally there remains very little of the original building, and that little has been thoroughly restored. Until the last half century the colonnades were blocked up with all manner of obstructions; the four-light windows under their arches of alternating brick and marble were replaced by rectangular openings of an unlovely, but doubtless useful, form; and those in the storey above were completely closed. The core of the buildings which surround the narrow courtyard is a part of the Palazzo erected by the monk.

1 In M1)lleno B1s (centum) Dec(1es Quoque Seno) Urb1s P(re)Sent1s Cap1tane(us) Ens Bucan1gra Gu1llelm(us) F1er1 Me JOSSIT. Postm(od)o P1gra N(on) Cura Jussu(m) Me Tra(n)sTul1t E(n)t1s 1n Usu(m) Fr(ater) Ol1ver1(us) V1r Me(n)t1s Acum1ne D1(v)us. Part of this inscription is covered up; but the reading given here is taken from the work of Sig. F. Genala, 77 Palazzo di San Giorgio, the author of which examined the tablet carefully, when the restoration of the building was in progress.


The building has seen as many changes as the constitution of the Bank itself. It was enlarged in 1368, and after the reform of 1407 two rooms were added to the sea front. In 1451 the Palazzo was ceded to the Governors, and in 1535 was entirely renewed. The greater portion of the present building, however, dates from 1571. Of this date approximately is the fast fading fresco by Lazzaro Tavarone on the sea front, representing St George and the Dragon; and it used to be said that the charger of St George was the only horse to be seen in the city ..—

"Che a Zena no era ancora atro cavallo Che quello che depento hemo in San Zorzo." Nor is it to be greatly wondered at that horsemen were few where the streets are most of them still so narrow that two pedestrians find scarcely room to walk abreast, and many of which break into a picturesque cascade of red brick or sea-pebble steps whenever there is a change of level. It must have been as difficult to thread the gloomy alleys with a chair or litter as it is to navigate the silent canals of Venice. Carriage traffic was almost an impossibility. . and it was with some feeling of pride that a road was made in 1635 between Pegli and Voltri, where many of the Genoese had country villas, because the number of carriages in the neighbourhood had actually increased to twenty-five.1

The great hall of the Palazzo, part of the work of 1571, has preserved the statues of those citizens, who, by bequeathing large sums of money to the state for the purpose of extinguishing the public debt, received

1 Belgrano, Vita Privata de' Genovesi; and Accinelli, Compendio delta Storia di Genova.

the reward of their good deeds in the shape of a sitting or standing statue according to the amount of their bequests.1 The sums with which they are credited, it is to be observed, are not those which were originally given to the state, but the resulting amount after it had been left to accumulate at compound interest for many years. Thus, the sum of 800,000 lire with which Francesco Vivaldi is credited in 1467 really represents a far more moderate donation of 9,000 lire made in 13 71.

The development of such an institution as the Bank was naturally a slow one, and though it does not afford very interesting reading, its history holds so important a place in that of the Republic itself that it is impossible to omit a short account of its growth and powers.

The commercial and warlike enterprises of the Genoese of old time are almost incredible in their extensiveness. Corsica was held successfully against the Pisans, and the islanders reduced to submission; both Venice and Arragon were opposed with equal success; Famagusta was occupied in 1373 ; Scio and the Foglie in 1346; and in the Black Sea the supremacy of Genoa was felt by the rival maritime states, even if they refused to acknowledge it.

Such undertakings were costly, and frequently required an outlay of more money than the exchequer

1 The same curious gradation of honours was observed with regard to the benefactors of the Hospital of Pammatone. Donors of more than 200,000 lire were rewarded with a statue in a sitting posture, while those who gave half that sum had to be content with a standing effigy. Those whose more modest gifts amounted to 50,000 lire were recorded by a marble bust, and for 25,000 lire a shy little tablet was put up with the name of the giver graven upon it (Olivieri, Monete e Medaglie della Spinola).

contained. . and to meet the difficulty private individuals combined to advance the necessary funds, receiving in return certain of the taxes for a definite period as payment. The broad principle underlying these transactions was that of borrowing from private sources, and paying the interest out of the receipts from the taxes and harbour dues.

To English people it may seem strange that the greatest source of revenue was derived from the salt monopoly. In 1152 the state reserved to itself the sole right of selling salt throughout the territories of the Republic, and in the thirteenth century there were properly constituted consoli del sale, who were chosen by lot, and whose duty it was to superintend the collection and disposal of all moneys thus received. Salt was produced at Albissola, Porto Maurizio, Ventimiglia, Sta. Margherita and Rapallo, though in later days "sal albus" was produced at Spezia. The regulations with regard to this monopoly provided for every contingency . . and when, in 1229, Hyeres engaged to supply all the salt required at an established price, it was decreed that only Genoese ships might be employed in transporting it to the capital. The captain was forbidden to land his cargo in any other port than Genoa . . should he be misguided enough to transgress, then the crew was invited to mutiny, and bring the erring skipper and the cargo to the consoli del sale, where as a punishment half the value of the ship was divided among the crew, and the other half went to the public treasury. If the vessel were found to be carrying the prohibited " sal albus," the cargo was thrown into the sea, the ship burnt, and the warehouse intended for storing it was destroyed.1 1 Atti della Societa Ligure di Storia Patria, vol. xxxv. p. 113.

Whenever a ship arrived in Genoa with a cargo of salt the captain was obliged to send a sample of it immediately to the consoli; it had, if approved, then to be filled into special sacks belonging to the conservatori of the harbour, and to be stored in magazines set apart for the purpose, which were finally locked with three keys, of which the state held two in its own possession.1 Nor was this all, for the salt could only be retailed in the "stapole" appointed for the purpose.2

The chief importance of this monopoly was that in times of stress the state could raise the price at pleasure, and on occasion it went up to five times its usual value. An instance of this occurred in 1319, when Cardinal Luca Fieschi advanced a sum of 9000 lire, and received the Sacro Catino as security. To redeem this precious vessel the price of salt was increased by twelve denarii per mina.

The Public Debt which in 1407 was consolidated into the "Compera di San Giorgio" may be said to have originated in the Crusades; for during their progress Genoa drove a thriving trade in carrying the Crusaders and their followers to the Holy Land. When Saracen-spitting ceased to be a popular European sport, the Republic found itself with a large number of ships lying idle. Partly to keep these employed the campaign against Tortosa and Almeria was undertaken, and the first public debt dates back to 1148, when the former city was taken and sacked. The expenses must have been very heavy, for the

1 Cuneo, Memorie sopra P antico debito pubblico, etc.

2 To be quite precise, the shops in which bread and salt were sold were called "stapole" ; wine and oil were sold in "fondachi," and all other goods in "botteghe." Cuneo, op. cit.

public debt is said to have been 2,200,000 lire at the end of 1150. Begun in this manner, so easy a method of raising money was likely to become rapidly popular, and the number of debts grew so large and so much difficulty accompanied the regulation of them that in 1332, at the end of the civil war, all the compere, or loans, were united under one head and called the "Compera Nuova della Pace." The sum of the debts at this period amounted to 826,696 lire.1

Further modifications followed on the election of Simone Boccanegra as Doge in 1339, for all the books had been burnt during the disturbances, and it consequently became necessary to make out a new statement of all creditors, the amount of their credits, and the particular "compera" to which their luoghi, or shares, belonged. At the same time it was decided to combine the debts again as far as it was possible to do so, and thus reduce the number of compere.

This arduous task was deputed to four men called sapienti, and the result of their labours was to dispose of the several debts under three groups . . the " Compera del Sale" of 1274, paying 8%; the " Mutua Vetera" of 1303, paying 7%; and the "Compera della Pace," paying 7%. Whatever moneys were over after the interest had been paid went towards buying in luoghi with the object of extinguishing the debt.2 The

1 A sidelight is thrown on the cost of these civil wars by the fact that out of this sum 120,000 lire had to be paid for the hire of mercenaries, and 34,800 as indemnity to the Spinola and Grimaldi (Atti, loc. cit. p. 120).

a In one or two essential points there is a marked difference between the "Compera" and a modern company. Many of the loans were more or less compulsory ; and while the modern company has its capital divided into shares of a fixed value, the "Luogo" was really an ideal unit. Moreover, whereas the company makes out its dividends as a control of these affairs was placed in the hands of eight " Protettori," and besides these officers there were the "Visitatori del Comune," whose duty it was to carry out the instructions of the "Protettori," and to examine the accounts. In process of time the office of " Visitatore" passed from the control of the state to the administrators of the debt, and new overseers were appointed to protect the interests of the shareholders. These officials were four in number, two "Massai del Comune," or stewards, and two "Maestri della Ragione," or auditors. The former officers had control of the exchequer, and only disbursed money on the receipt of a demand written by the cancelliere, signed by the notary of the "Maestri," and sealed with the three seals of the Doge, the Anziani, and of the Maestri themselves. The duty of the latter, therefore, was to control the "Massari." These Magistracies seem to date from 1335.

The " Visitatori" were four in number, two of them noble, and two drawn from the merchant classes. They had to be over thirty years of age, to possess 3000 lire at least, and held office for six months.

The distinction between a "Compera" and a "Maone" has not been sufficiently noted by the generality of modern writers. It appears that the

whole according to the profits of the year, the interest of a "Luogo" was a fixed sum. No foreigner, i.e. nobody but a Genoese, could possess shares without the express permission of the Governors; and anyone who was permitted to buy them immediately became liable for his share of the taxes.

Whenever the state farmed out a tax a portion was reserved as a "coda di ridenzione," or redemption fund. For instance, if an introit of the value of 1300 lire was to be dealt with only 1000 lire of it would be sold, the remaining 300 lire forming a "coda," or tail, and being left to multiply at compound interest with the object of redeeming the other portion.

former term was applied to loans in money,1 while the latter referred to loans of ships and armed men for warlike expeditions. This was especially the case in 1346, when Scio was taken. The "Maonisti" supplied the government with a fully-equipped fleet, and when at the end of the campaign the state was unable to pay the sum of 203,000 lire, to which the expenses amounted, the debt was converted into a liability, which became known as the " Maone di Scio." In the case of the " Maone," too, the shareholders had more power; for the Island of Scio with the Two Foglie was given to them for twenty years, at the end of which period the state bound itself to redeem the shares. The Podesta of Scio was nominated by the Republic in concert with the shareholders, so that they had a direct part in the management of these possessions.

A further consolidation ensued in 1349, and in 1363 material changes were made by Gabriele Adorno in the management of the debt. The control was placed in the hands of the "Otto della Moneta," and no expenditure exceeding the sum of 375 lire could be incurred in one year without the sanction of this body. They had not only to approve of each expedition before it could be undertaken, but to decide upon the means of paying for it.

The final change came in 1407 when Boucicault, the French Governor, accustomed as he was to ride roughshod over the opinions of others, endeavoured to force the Genoese into an involuntary loan without the promise of redemption within a reasonable time

1 The " Compere" were not all money transactions, however, for in 1378 the government announced its readiness to accept a loan, in pepper, and to redeem it either in kind, or in specie (Atti, loc. cit. p. 187).

limit. The multiplicity of the loans already floated added to the general distrust, and investors began to fight shy of putting their money into the Compere of the state. Accordingly the Anziani of the city, with the consent of Boucicault, decreed that a council of eight should be entrusted with the work of reorganisation . . and after a year's hard work all the old "Compere" were reduced to one great loan, which was henceforth known as the Grande Compera di San Giorgio.1

The percentage on the revised "luoghi" was to be 7%. . and the whole scheme was controlled by a council of 480, all of whom must be over eighteen, and possess not less than ten "luoghi." This grande consiglio could only meet when summoned by the "Protettori," who, eight in number, had to be thirty years of age; though if six of them were of proper age it was sufficient if the remaining two had completed their twenty-fifth year. The "Protettori" had to possess at least 100 "luoghi," and were elected by thirty-two electors, themselves carefully chosen by lot for the purpose. The power of the " Protettori" was practically unlimited, as it was their duty to in all things "rule, command, provide and order."

There were besides several minor magistracies, but the chief was the "Ufficio del Quarantaquattro," so

1 The Genoese first came across St George at Cappadocia in 1098, and quickly adopted as their patron saint the

'' Eccelso cavalier di Cristo atleta, Giorgio chiamata ; e vera insegna e duce Di nostra gran Liguria." The quotation is from a long poem written by B. Falamone, a Genoese, on the lines of Dante's Divine Comedy. It was lost for about two hundred years, and only came to light in the first quarter of the nineteenth century.

named from the year 1444 in which it was instituted, which consisted of eight members whose duty it was to deal with all that the other magistrates had allowed to lapse, or had been unable to settle within the established time. These last remained in office for eight years, and among other things had control of the "code di ridenzione."

In 1675 branches were established in various parts of the city, where loans could be negociated, and money drawn as in our modern banks.

Thus constituted, the Banca di San Giorgio escaped the revolutionary changes of 1797, for when the Genoese were forced to side with France it was made one of the stipulations that the integrity of the Bank should be guaranteed. But the great financial institution was already tottering to its fall, and in the succeeding year a great outcry was raised against the tyranny of a system which allowed the revenues of the state to be controlled by a body of private individuals.

It had served the Republic well and truly; but its work was done, and in the name of Liberty and Equality the crowning monument of Genoese industry and foresight closed its doors for ever. The efforts of Napoleon in 1804 and 1814 were powerless to breathe life into it, and all that remains to the present generation is the picturesque old palace with its many memories.

And from among those memories none perhaps are more glorious than those recalling the history of the colonies, which helped to build up its greatness. Corsica, Cyprus, and the Black Sea settlements all came, at one time of trouble or another, under the control of the Bank . . and there is no more fitting spot than in the shadow of the Palace in which to trace the growth and decline of Genoa's oversea possessions.

At the close of the Crusade of 1097, when Genoa had sent a fleet to co-operate with Godfrey de Bouillon, the Republic gained its first possessions in the East; and when in 1099 Guglielmo Embriaco assisted at the taking of Jerusalem, and two years later captured Tyre and Caesarea, the Genoese had reason to expect generous concessions from the new King of Jerusalem, Baldwin, Count of Flanders. In 1105 an agreement was drawn up by which a street in Jerusalem and one in Joppa (singulos vicos donavit) were given to the Genoese, and a third of the harbour dues and tributes in Assur, Caesarea and Acre, with the promise of a third of the taxes in Memphis which Baldwin hoped to take with the assistance of Genoa (si ea urbe, Genuensibus adiuvantibus, potiri contigissef). In return the Republic bound itself to protect and defend Baldwin if necessary.1

In payment for help rendered to the Princes of Laodicea and Antioch in 1098, the Genoese were granted concessions in these two towns, and a few years later (1109), for assisting Beltrame, son of Count Raimond of Toulouse, they were given a third part of the maritime dues in Tripoli and Toulouse.

These concessions were increased whenever the opportunity for so doing presented itself, and by 1190 the privileges of the Republic in Tyre, Sidon and Acre included liberty of trade, the possession of the necessary warehouses, their own laws and tribunals, and consuls sent from Genoa to regulate the colony in all things except criminal cases. The weights and measures were controlled by the Genoese, who received 1 Foglietta, Historia sub 1105.

half the maritime dues, and Genoese merchants were free from the payment of all taxes.

Each campaign increased the possessions of the Republic, and in 1147 and 1148 Almeria and Tortosa were wrested from the Saracens. Caffaro claims that the Genoese captured them single-handed, slew 20,000 infidels in the first-named city, routed 30,000 more, and took back 10,000 women and children in captivity to Genoa, receiving as ransom the sum of 30,000 marabottini} The successful issue of this siege so elated the Genoese that it was difficult to restrain the men from beginning a premature attack on Tortosa; and the consuls were obliged to decree that nobody should begin the battle until the command was given (ut nemo sine communi consilio, et licentia consulum deinceps ad bellum tret. Caffaro, Annales, in Muratori, Rer. It. Script., vol. vi.).

Early in the next century a footing was gained in Cyprus, at Nicosia, and in 1232 the Genoese were in possession of streets and warehouses in various towns, with permission to enter all the ports of the Island without paying the harbour dues. From this small beginning Genoa at length became mistress of the whole kingdom.

At the beginning of the thirteenth century Genoese traders were carrying their merchandise to every port on the coast of Palestine, and bringing back precious spices and oriental fabrics. They had collecting and distributing centres in Spain at Almeria and Tortosa; in the Islands of Candia and Cyprus they held concessions; and in Tunis, Barbary, Tripoli, Bugia, Garbo,

1 The marabottino was worth 12*198 lire (present value). Its "purchasing" value was, however, about 30-5o lire. See Imperiale, Caffaro e suoi tempi, p. 330.

Morocco and Ceuta were to be found their emporia and warehouses; while their European commercial treaties included Bordeaux, Rochelle, Bruges and Antwerp.

The loss of all rights in Palestine, consequent on the capture of Jerusalem by the Saracens in 1244, was a blow which only rendered the Genoese more anxious to extend their enterprises into other lands; and the Treaty of Ninfeo was made at a time when the Republic was free to throw her full strength into the new channels thus opened, and to found fresh colonies in the Black Sea.

It is of Pera and these new colonies that the Palazzo di San Giorgio calls up the most vivid memories. The date of its foundation is almost the same as that in which Pera was ceded to Genoa, and the Venetian trophies from Pantocratore were built into the facade. It is a period which marks out a new era of prosperity, beginning with the accession of Michael Palaeologos to the throne of Constantinople, aided by the Genoese.

Under the dynasty of the Comneni the Venetians had held the upper hand in the Black Sea, but with their downfall came the opportunity of Genoa. In recognition of their services Palaeologos agreed to the treaty of Ninfeo already mentioned, in 1262. New colonies sprang up at Sansum, Trebisond, Sudak, and Cembal6 (Balaklava), while Galata, or Pera,1 and Caffa became the centres of a system of government very carefully regulated by the authorities at home.

Cyprus, meanwhile, had been overrun by the

1 Galata was the portion of this suburb of Constantinople which contained the tower. That portion which lay nearest the sea was called Pera (Giornale Ligustico, anno 1841, fasc. ii. p. 171).

merchants of Venice and Genoa; and it does not appear that the latter endeavoured to ingratiate themselves with the Cypriotes; for whenever discords arose with the Venetian colonists—and they did arise very frequently—it was to the Venetians that the natives lent their support. More than once there had been brawls and riots between them, and at the coronation of Pierino in 1372 matters came to a crisis, when each Republic claimed presidence over the other. Again the Cypriotes favoured the Venetians, and their rivals resolved never to forgive the slight . In the following year they came to blows at a banquet, and the Cypriotes taking the side of the Venetians as on former occasions, the eight Genoese who were present received a sound beating, and were thrown from the windows.1

Seven of the eight were killed outright, and the survivor arrived in Genoa with his head in bandages to lay the story of the outrage before the Senate. A fleet of forty-three galleys under Pietro Fregoso was despatched to avenge the insult, and the island was reduced to submission, the King being taken back to Genoa as a captive. The terms which the victorious Republic dictated were as follows. . The King of Cyprus was to be allowed to exercise his authority in the island, but with this restriction, that he might not impose any new tax without the permission of the Genoese. He had no power over Genoese subjects in the realm, who were only called upon to render obed

1 Foscarini's MS. note on the margin of Foglietta's History is pleasingly graphic; "and several of the Genoese," says he, "were emptied out of the balconies and windows ; and in that day the Genoese had a very bad time of it (quel di Zenouesi hcbeno un mal di), what with the Venetians and the Cypriotes."

ience to their own Podesta. He was to pay 40,000 scudi as damages, 40,000 more for the help previously given him, and within the next twelve years was to pay over the huge sum of 2,240,000 scudi, as security for which Genoa was to retain the town of Famagusta, while the island paid an annual sum of 40,000 scudi for its upkeep. Nor was this all. . it was stipulated that the King's uncle, Giacomo, and his two sons, were to be given up as hostages. Giacomo and his sons languished in a Genoese prison until Pierino died and Giacomo succeeded to the throne . . and as the money was never paid Genoa retained possession of Famagusta.

In 1447, being no longer able to protect it, the Island of Cyprus was made over to the Banca di San Giorgio by the Republic, and in 1464 was lost for ever.

Scio and the Foglie were captured in 1346, and considerable revenue accrued to the state from the rich deposits of alum which were found there; until in the course of time these possessions, too, were wrested from the grasp of Genoa.

Caffa, however, remained the chief source of wealth, while Pera, from its strategic position on the Bosphorus, and commanding the Black Sea, was scarcely less important. No pains were spared to ensure the strict observance of treaty rights, and to avoid friction with the Greeks of Constantinople; but the task was a difficult one, and called for more than the ordinary amount of tact on the part of the Podesta. The colonists did not pretend to conceal their contempt for their neighbours; for time after time, when the Emperor had protested against their behaviour with a timid show of force, they had been ignominiously beaten, rushing with hysterical screams back to Constantinople, and closing the gates in terror lest the handful of Genoese merchants should break in and plunder their dwellings. By way of amusing themselves the Genoese, on one occasion, had fired into the city from Galata, and after having sent an elaborate apology to the Emperor to say that it had been an accident, repeated the little joke on the following day. The Greeks were powerless, and when the Emperor in his troubles enlisted the combined services of Arragon and Venice, Pagano D' Oria dispersed the allied fleets with considerable damage under the very walls of the city itself, while the Genoese extorted still more advantageous terms and an extension of territory from the Greeks.

It is difficult to say whether the Genoese government was officially responsible for any of these disturbances. In outward appearance there was no fault to be found with the precautions taken in the selection of the Podesta. He was bound down by an exceedingly well regulated code, being selected by the home government, and held office for a year only. He was not again eligible for ten years. If he died in office a temporary Podesta was elected in Galata itself, who governed the colony until a new magistrate could arrive from Genoa. The Podesta took an oath before leaving that he would observe the laws, and on the expiration of his term was called upon to render a strict account of his stewardship. Immediately on his arrival he was obliged to pay a state visit to the Emperor, who probably received him somewhat coldly; and this done he spent the next few weeks in taking a census of all the inhabitants of Galata in order that no one who was not Genoese, or who had not the right to be considered as such,1 might be able to trade under the Genoese privileges.

These duties were varied every Sunday by a visit in great state to the Emperor, and the Sundays were few indeed on which he was not entertained with a long string of complaints regarding the misdeeds of his compatriots. Sometimes it was a Genoese vessel that had been seen smuggling salt into Constantinople; sometimes a merchant who had built a warehouse outside the allotted space; sometimes a foreigner who had been discovered trading under Genoese tariffs; but most frequently of all there were serious indictments for assaults committed on his unfortunate subjects.

When the Turkish hordes arrived under the walls of Constantinople the Genoese found themselves on the horns of a dilemma. Had they been able to foresee the exact result of the siege, they would doubtless have arrived at a satisfactory conclusion without difficulty; but in the uncertainty they elected to steer a middle course, and place themselves on good terms with both sides. With this laudable end in view, they fought with singular ferocity on behalf of the tottering Empire, and at the same time drove a nourishing trade with the Turks.

Constantinople fell in 1453, and five days later Mahomet visited Galata. Whatever the terms of the treaty made with him had been, the Genoese had failed to abide by them; and for his part the Turk had never had any intention of keeping his word. The walls were thrown down, and the warehouses and magazines closed and sealed . . an inventory was made

1 " Persona /anuensis velque pro Januensi distinguatur." Regulations for the Administration of the Colony of Galata, Feb. 14th, 1317. Quoted in Sauli, La Colonia de Genovesi in Galata.
of the possessions of such Genoese as had been wise enough to flee; and a decree was promulgated that all those who should return within three months would receive back their goods intact. Nobody was deceived, and another of Genoa's great emporia was swept from existence.

There only remained Caffa and the colonies near it. All of these had been transferred to the Banca di San Giorgio on the fall of Constantinople, and doubtless all that could be done was done in order to preserve them intact. So much was spent on them that for the next few years no dividends were forthcoming. But the Bank authorities were not able to cope with the greed of their representatives on the spot . It was to the interest of the Khan of Tartary that the Genoese should retain the port of Caffa, as it formed the only outlet by which the produce of the interior could reach the great markets of the world. He looked, therefore, with an eye of favour on the Genoese, and though the town was governed by one of the Khan's own representatives he was so ably "assisted" by an overpowering magistracy of four, a consul and two consiglieri annually elected in Genoa, that they practically ruled him as well as the colony.

In 1475 Mamac, the governor, died, and when the Khan appointed a successor in the person of one Eminices, or Eminec, Mamac's widow bribed the Genoese authorities in the town, and by their representations Eminec was removed from office for treachery, and Seifac, Seitac or Seifaces as he is variously called —son of Mamac—appointed instead. But Eminec was not the man to accept such treatment quietly, and he besought vengeance at the hand of the Turks. Only too willing to attack the valuable ports of the Black Sea they responded with alacrity, and sent a fleet under Achmet Giedek, to which Caffa offered to surrender unconditionally. But Achmet was in a fighting mood, and insisted that some show of opposition should be made; and after he had kept up a spirited bombardment against the silent walls for an hour or two, graciously accepted the keys which the Genoese had not ceased to proffer.

Thus fell Caffa, the last of Genoa's colonies, and the last fount of her wealth. All that remains to Genoa is a proud memory, the names of two new streets, one near the lunatic asylum and the other far across the Bisagno, and an olive-complexioned, grave-eyed Byzantine Madonna in the Palazzo Bianco.