GENUA
(Genoa) Liguria, Italy.
A port city
destroyed by Hannibal and restored by the Romans for
use as a military base against the Ligurians. From Livy
(
21.32) it is known that it was under Roman domination by 218 B.C. Little remains from pre-Roman times
except Greek vases, mostly 4th c. imports, and Etruscan
bronzes, both from the necropolis. Excavations have so
far revealed no evidence before the 4th c. of a settled
colony on the hill overlooking the oldest center of habitation at the harbor (S. Maria di Castello) although sherds
testify to the traffic that might be expected around a
harbor. The position of the modern city over the Roman
town has made exploration impossible but the Roman
grid is discernible in the regularity of the present city's
street plan.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
R. Paribeni, “Necropoli arcaica rinvenuta nella città di Genova,”
Ausonia 5 (1910) 13ff;
N. Lamboglia,
Liguria romana I (1938) Ch. v; id.,
La
Liguria antica (1941); L. Bernabò Brea & G. Chiappella, “Nuove scoperte nella necropoli preromana di
Genova,”
RStLig (1951) 163ff; T. Mannoni, “Le
ricerche archeologiche nell'area urbana di Genova,”
Boll.
Ligustico 19 (1967) 9ff; T. O. De Negri,
Storia di Genova
(1968).
A. FROVA