La comunità genovese di Famagosta

The Genoese community in Cyprus originally settled around the small port of Famagusta in the late XIII century, mostly carried out trade at sea and related activities, and occupies a distinctive place in the history of the Stato da Mar. When the rule of the French House of Lusignan ended (in 1291, Henry II made Famagusta capital of the kingdom), the community witnessed the Genoese conquest of Cyprus (1373), followed by Venetian rule (1481), and finally domination by the Great Sultan. They fought with the Venetians in the heroic resistance of Famagusta, which finally surrendered to the Ottomans in August 1571 after a siege that lasted eleven terrible months. This paper is a study of the political, economic, social, and cultural traits of this enclave and of some of its exponents, with a specific focus on the century of Venetian domination (1481-1571). I seek to investigate how the Genoese of Famagusta, with their distinctive cultural profile, sense of identity, and know-how, combined within the mosaic of peoples in the Stato da Mar, and to identify some of the common traits in the biographies of outstanding men from the community