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Most Serene Republic of Genoa
Serenissima Repubblica di Genova Serenìscima Repùblica de Zêna
Timeline: 1983: Doomsday

OTL equivalent: Liguria without the province of Imperia over the Argentina river
Flag Coat of Arms
Flag of St. George Coat of arms of the republic
Location of Most Serene Republic of Genoa
Location of the Republic of Genoa

(The islands of Gorgona and Capraia are not showed)

Motto
Respublica superiorem non recognoscens (Latin)
("Republic that recognizes no superior")
Anthem "Basso di Genova"
Capital
(and largest city)
Genoa
Other cities Savona, Rapallo, Albenga, Imperia and Lerici
Language
  official
 
Italian
  others Ligurian, French, English Portughese and others
Religion
  main
 
Catholicism
  others Atheism, Judaism and others
Ethnic Groups
  main
 
Ligurians
  others Italians, Piedmontese, Alpines, Portugheses, French, Americans and others
Demonym Ligurian
Government Unitary parliamentary republic
  Legislature General Council
Doge of the Republic Marco Bucci
Prime Minister Giovanni Toti
Area 4,292 km²
Population 1,185,868 
Established 1099
Independence from Italy
  declared June 21, 1984
Currency Italian Scudo
Organizations Association of the Free Italian States and League of Nations
H21 This 1983: Doomsday page is under Review.

Even though it is part of the 1983: Doomsday Timeline, there is debate about whether this article conflicts with older canon or is too implausible to remain as is. See the Talk Page for more details. If you add this label to an article, please do not forget to make mention of it on the main discussion page for the Timeline.

The Most Serene Republic of Genoa (Serenissima Repubblica di Genova / Serenìscima Repùblica de Zêna) is a state in Northwestern Italy, it controls most of the ex-region of Liguria and the islands of Gorgona and Capraia.

History[]

Pre-Doomsday[]

Before 1100, Genoa emerged as an independent city-state, one of a number of Italian city-states during this period. The Republic of Genoa extended over modern day Liguria and Piedmont, Sardinia, Corsica and had practically complete control of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Through Genoese participation on the Crusades, colonies were established in the Middle East, in the Aegean, in Sicily and Northern Africa. The collapse of the Crusader States was offset by Genoa’s alliance with the Byzantine Empire, which opened opportunities of expansion into the Black Sea and Crimea. Genoa's political zenith came with its victory over Pisa at the naval Battle of Meloria in 1284, and over Venice, at the naval Battle of Curzola in 1298. However, this prosperity did not last.

In 1768, Genoa was forced to also cede Corsica to France. With the shift in world economy and trade routes to the New World and away from the Mediterranean, Genoa's political and economic power went into steady decline. In 1797, under pressure from Napoleon, Genoa became a French protectorate called the Ligurian Republic, which was annexed by France in 1805. Although the Genoese revolted against France in 1814 and liberated the city on their own, delegates at the Congress of Vienna sanctioned its incorporation into the Kingdom of Sardinia, in 1848 the Genoese revolted against the power of the Savoyard monarchy, with the goal of restoring the republic, the rebellion was suppressed with might and brute force by the Bersaglieri. In 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi set out from Genoa with over a thousand volunteers to begin the campaign.

Doomsday and after[]

Like the other members of NATO, Italy was hit on Doomsday by several strikes. The only one in the vicinity of Genoa was on the base at La Spezia, in easternmost Liguria.

In the aftermath of Doomsday, Genoa suffered some fallout from strikes in southeastern France, as well as the strikes on Milan and La Spezia. However, it was fairly small amounts, though the regional authority did lose its power over both the eastern and western edges of Liguria due to refugees.

Yet in the months after Doomsday, even after seizing the goods on the ships left in the port of Genoa, the government still had to deal with food shortages, and famine was barely avoided over the winter of 1983-1984. The resulting instability led to a fairly shaky government, which always seemed to be in danger of falling. Still, after hearing nothing from a higher authority, the leaders of the Ligurian region declared the creation of a provisional government of Liguria to govern the area, on June 21st, 1984.

The next winter, as food from the area had actually stayed after the harvest, went much better, and all had the food they needed, though it was definitely not going to make any overweight. By 1986, the government had managed to stabilize itself once again, though it's authority, while technically extending through much of Liguria, was in practice only worth much within the region right around Genoa itself.

Gradual knowledge of the new world[]

Over the next couple of years, the government out of Genoa managed to re-institute its authority over central Liguria once again. But it would be harassed by pirates and raiders, that saw the abundance of ships and goods as a worthy prize, but thanks to the presence of naval units located in Genoa and that of some ships that managed to relocated to Genoa thanks to the fact of not being present in La Spezia during the attack, this factors would be greatly beneficial to the young Prov. Gov., who managed to retain order and a certain amount of stability over the former provinces of Genoa, Savona and parts of La Spezia.

In this was also it manage to effectively block any attemps by refugees to crossing into Liguria, thanks to the control of the entry points to the region and the patrolling of the highways by the Carabinieri, but even this woudn't stop refugees from attempting to reach Liguria, as many of them would simply opt for secondary routes or crossing the border by foot, often dying of hypothermia or starvation in the process, at least 40,000 refugees, mainly from Turin and Lombardy manage to illegally enter into Liguria.

The provisional government would learn via rumors of the presence of an Italian provisional government based in Palermo, Sicily, this would be later confirmed by the Sardinian government who establish relationship with this government since the winter of 1983, the news of this discovery created mixed reactions inside of the regional council and in general among the population of the region. Liberals, Demo-Christians and Republicans would call for the immediate establish of diplomatic relationships with Palermo and the start of negotiations for joining this newly established government, instead Socialists, Communists and other left wing parties would approve the idea of engaging in relationships with the provisional government located in Palermo, but it would not agree to the engagement with the Italian provisional government for joining the newly republic without consulting the Ligurian population first, especially because no member of the Craxi government, neither Bettino Craxi himself, or President Sandro Pertini were behind the formation of this provisional government, making his legitimacy very flimsy, on par with any other civilian or military administration in Italy trying to survive and stabilize themselves. .

A threat from the south[]

By 1989 Genoa was fully aware of the intentions of the provisional republic, as the movement of troops didn't went unnoticed, due to the large number of troops deployed and the circulation of rumours about an invading army who was advancing from the south, still this caught by suprise Tuscany, who at that time was just a league of city states under the guide of the regional government, after weeks of diplomatic talks Italy decided to invade Tuscany after the discover of several of it's soldier decapitated by Tuscanian militiamen. The advance continue up until the Arno river, where a coalition of Northern Italian city-states and provisional governments manage to effectively stop the invaders, but this was more for the presence of a large Alpine and Italian defense force just outside of Bologna, ready to counterattack at the right moment, seeing the large deployment of forces the provisional government decided to retreat south towards the Marche/Emilia-Romagna border and to hold the line on the Arno river.

A ceasefire was soon mediated thanks to Swiss diplomatic talks with Palermo and the Treaty of Lucca was signed on the 10th of September of 1990, which stated the division of the region of Tuscany between the Tuscan regional government and the Italian provisional republic, the free navigation of the Arno, economical aid to the remaining part of the Region of Tuscany and the recognition of Tuscany as a sovereign entity.

The war did not effect Genoa or it's republic directly, but it still created a lot of hysteria and fear of a possible invasion from this provisional government based in Palermo, and also raids and incursions against cargo ships and merchants were still occurring in the Ligurian Sea, trade was the vital factor for the stability of Genoa and for maintaining a economy, if the Gulf of Genoa wasn't safe then this would mean the end of the republic. In order to boost their defense the Republic signed the Treaty of Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the Swiss Confederation and the Republic of Genoa at Lugano the 17th of April of 1991, the agreement other then creating a free trade deal between the two states it also agree to the deployment of Swiss and Austrian troops in the territory of the republic, the ex American bases of Finale Ligure and San Bartolomeo were transferred from American supervision to Swiss one, but still under Genoese jurisdiction and with Genoese soldier, in return the government of Genoa would help the Confederation in building a proper naval force and to train those men for the Confederation.

A small Kingdom and an even smaller prince[]

Between all of this the territory of the former province of Imperia had been mostly leftover and without any control, due to the limitations of the provisional government and also for the fear of early nuclear strikes in Nice, this didn't happen however and the territory was left without protection or jurisdiction, it was controlled by various city-states and other entities like the Principality of Seborga, but by 1987 the two most important cities; Imperia, the previous capital of the province and Sanremo, famous for his festival were under constant attack by French and Spanish pirates, unable to fend off the pirates the mayors of the two cities agreed to pledge themselves under the protection of the pirates and to allow them to use the cities as a supply point and safe harbour. Between 1987 and 1991 this two cities would become infamous for it's rampant criminality and also as base of operations for pirates in the Tyrrhenian Sea, due to its proximity to trade routes allowed them easy access to prey and also by the vicinity of Corsica, Monaco, Tuscany and Liguria too.

By late 1980s the pirates become ever more ambitious, by also starting land raids towards Cuneo and it's province, Alassio and Andora, under Ligurian control and also to Ventimiglia, who was by 1985 under the protection of Monaco, this draw the attention of both Genoa and Montecarlo, who are starting to preparing military operations against the two pirate ports. Genoa delayed their plans by 1990 because of the invasion of Tuscany by Italy, meanwhile Monaco did launch their operations in 1989, who just recently started to advance from Ventimiglia in order to stop the pirates. The Public Services of Monaco started "Operation Costa Grimaldi" on the 4th of June 1989, with a land and naval assault to the city of Sanremo, assisted by Seborga who provided personnel and other assistance, the battle started on the 7th of June and ended only one week and a half after, with the scattering of the pirates with the assistance of the civilian population, who revolted as soon the fighting started. The main leaders of the pirates were paraded along the main street of Sanremo before being brought to Monaco for being trailed for piracy. The high command of Montecarlo decided to not advance furthermore then the Argentina river, deeming unnecessary and absorbing too much territory in so little time.

As for the Republic of Genoa their military operations, codename "Andrea Doria" for the reconquest of Imperia would start on the 10th of February 1990, using the winter season as an advance since most of the foreign pirates would return to Spain or France during this time, same as Montecarlo the operations consisted in a infantry assault from the east and the north alongside a naval bombardment and landing near the city itself. The operations lasted for 4 days, before the city was finally under Genoese control, the population welcomed the capture of the city by Genoa and thousands would gather on the main streets of Imperia for greeting the Genoese troops.

By the 20th the city was fully incorporated into the Republic and it was already on the 12th that Genoese noticed the presence of road blocks on the Via Aurelia just outside of Arma di Taggia, there were two flags on the pennants above the blockade; One Monégasque and the other was a blue and white flag with stripes and a coat of arms on the left side. After a careful approach by a squadron of Genoese cavalry the soldier asked at the soldiers on the other side of the bridge why they were there in the first place, a Monégasque officer responded saying that the ex-Province of Imperia until the stream Argentina is now under the protection of the Kingdom of Montecarlo, because Sanremo was used as a pirate port and this was no longer tolerated by the government. The Genoese captain responded that the occupation was illegal and that the territory of the former region of Liguria is all under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Genoa, as stated by the government, still the officer and their troops refused to complain with the Genoese and told them to leave, things that they did.

In a couple of days the Genoese would return again on the bridge, but this time with a full company of infantryman, two squads of the Carabinieri and 4 Fiat 6616 ACPs fitted with autocannons, alongside a engineer team in order to build their own road blockade at their end of the bridge, basically reinforcing each other’s border, the situation would go on for days, with the soldiers of both sides refusing to retreat or leaving their posts. In the meantime the Swiss, wanting to avoid a full out warfare between two of their most valuable allied managed to convince both Genoa and Montecarlo to setting a provisional border along the stream temporarily. Both sides agreed and so in a couple of days the road block was removed and the constituencies of a proper border checkpoint begin for both states.

Over the years Monaco refused to talk further about the issue with Genoa and Genoa for their part insisted that a referendum need to be done in order to know the opinion of it's habitants, the government did after the establishment of the LoN filed numerous lawsuits at the illegal occupation of Genoese territory by Montecarlo, tensions between the two nations have managed to remain low over the years thanks to Alpine meditation.

Recent history[]

The grudge that they have borne against Sicily since the late 1980s has been a primary motivator in recent years, and thanks to the Alpine and SAC investments and land-lease the Geonese were able to create a small but well equipped navy, with land and ground forces in it.

Recently, however, their involvement in the Italian Peninsular Alliance, and to thei involvement of the republic in the Second Sicilian War, in which they recaptured the Tuscan archipelago for Tuscany, landed troops on the mainland to help the Tuscan Army, and supported the ADC invasion of Sardinia in June. They were also responsible for freeing the main settlements of New Rome at Santa Marinella, in an amphibious operation, during mid-November.

Government[]

Military[]

The Republic of Genoa, like for his government has taken inspiration to the old Genoese Republic for setting up the military forces that have the task of defending by sea, air and land the republic.

Unlike a traditional apporach where the armed forces are subdivided between the army, navy and air force, Genoa took a singular approach on how to model their armed forces, the Armata Genovese or as it ufficially called Armâ Zenéize is the combained military forces of the Republic, it has only one branch and that is the navy, in it the Armata has ground and air forces, called respectively "Forze di Terra Genovesi" or "Fòrsa de tæra Zenéize", the land component of the navy and the second best equipped, but the largest in terms of men, and the "Forza Aeronautica Genovese" or "Fòrsa de âia Zenéize", the air component of the navy, but almost neglected by the Genoese government for their dependency on the navy, but still compared to other nations the air force is equipped with standard 80s aircrafts and second hand airplanes.

The equipment issued to the Armata is pretty old by 2020 standards, but it does the job well enought to be considered sufficent for equipping the military; The navy use as their standard service rifle the Beretta BM 59 rifle, more precisely the model Mk. II, commonly known as ITAL-TA, a variant with a pistol grip and a metallic folding buttstock, issued to the Italian Armed Forces before Doomsday. The rifle has never been updated since 1983, but is on par with the firepower of the Piedmont, Venice and Tuscany in terms of main armaments. They use also other old weapons that were issued by the Italian Army like the rifle M1 Garand, MAB38 SMG and others, but this are mainly given only to reservists or troops who stay behind the frontline or in the national territory. The air force instead still use FIAT G.91 jet fighter of the 50s and 70s, Augusta A.101G, A.102 and A.105 helicopters for resque missions or for the deployment of small squads, also there are a couple of F-104S Starfighter, the Genoese government is interested in modernizing the air force and has place an order for a banch of Panavia Tornado for air testings, and lastly there is the navy itself, the jewel of the Republic of St. George and one of the largest navies in the Italian Peninsula among the various states; over the years it was the navy that recived most of the war budgets from the government and it was always the first to be modernized, as 2020 is equipped with three submarine classes, two cruisers classes, one light cruiser class and four corvettes classes, her flagship is the Caio Duilio helicopert cruiser.

Economy[]

Most of the economy of Genoa has to deal with its position as a port. While relatively few goods actually enter the port, it is the best-equipped port remaining in its area of the Mediterranean.

Besides this, extensive trade in both wines, and in mineral products from inland, does occur.

Recently, economic growth has been stagnating, as naval expansion uses up more and more of state funds.

International Relations[]

The Superba maintain a wide range of embassies and enjoy diplomatic relationships with many countries in Europe, Oceania, and America, the first contact with an outside source was with the Subalpine Federation, in 1985

Some years later on Genoa would open relationships with the countries of South America and Australia, now called ANZC, and they would help the Italian governments by giving military equipment, government fund investments to key projects and infrastractures and also many more, during the Great Italian War Genoa recived further aid in the form of help from the ADC, the Celtic Alliance send several military units and jet squadrons to fight alongside the Italian Peninsular Alliance, meanwhile Northern Germany send medical teams that assised both injured soldiers and the civilian population.

The Republic is also a member of the League of Nations and a founding member of the Association of the Free Italian States, also they are considering if joining the Atlantic Defence Community or not.

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