On the western Riviera the archbishops of Genoa are lords of Sanremo, the castle of San Romolo on the site of the Roman Villa Matutiana, and of Ceriana in the hills behind it.
Bishop Teodolfo was already leasing land there to settler families in 979, and about 1038 the bishop of Genoa took jurisdiction over Ceriana and made it a rural county. The archbishops keep the lordship until they sell it to Oberto Doria and Giorgio De Mari in 1297. The commune of Genoa, which dominates the Riviera, and the counts of Ventimiglia are the powers around them.
Who holds it
- Name
- Bonifacio
- Title
- Archbishop of Genoa
- Since
- 13 June 1188
- Confidence
- high
The Italian Wikipedia list pins the notes' Bonifacio as archbishop from 13 June 1188 to 22 September 1203, between Ugo della Volta and Ottone Ghilini.
What it holds
- Sanremo (the castle of San Romolo, the old Villa Matutiana): lordship of the town and its lands
- Ceriana: a rural county formed after the bishop of Genoa gained jurisdiction there about 1038
How it was acquired
Settler families asked Bishop Teodolfo for land at Sanremo in 979; jurisdiction over Ceriana passed to Bishop Corrado about 1038.
How things stand that morning
Held by the archbishop under the shadow of the commune of Genoa.
Wealth
Rents and dues of a coastal town and its hill villages; a small harbour.
Threats
- The commune of Genoa's growing grip on the Riviera
- The counts of Ventimiglia
Advocates and rivals
The commune of Genoa, master of the coast; the counts of Ventimiglia, who at some point controlled the Armea valley above Ceriana [date not pinned]; the townsmen of Sanremo.
Places of note
- San Romolo: The archbishops' castle town
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The archbishop's dates are firm and the lordship is well attested from 979 to its sale in 1297; its internal arrangements in 1200 are not described in the sources read.
On the map: Drawn as the modern municipalities of Sanremo and Ceriana, which roughly match the medieval lordship.
Primary sources for Genoa
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Genoa, by Caffaro and his continuators, with Ogerio Pane for 1197 to 1219, Ogerio Pane and the other official annalists of Genoa (year by year under the commune's authority; the 1197 to 1219 section by Ogerio Pane). The official record of the commune. Read online
- Annals of Pisa, by Bernardo Maragone, with continuation, Bernardo Maragone (1160s to 1175, continued to 1192). Pisa's official annals stop in 1175 and their continuation in 1192, so there is no Pisan narrative for 1200 itself. Read online
- The register of San Pietro di Silki (11th to 13th centuries). A monastic register of lands, serfs, gifts and lawsuits in the giudicato of Torres (Logudoro), written in the vernacular.
- The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. Read online
- Greek Acts and Documents of the Middle Ages, Sacred and Secular (documents of the 9th to 15th centuries, edited by F. Miklosich and J. Muller, 6 vols (Vienna, 1860 to 1890)). Volume 3 (Acta et diplomata res Graecas Italasque illustrantia, 1865) prints the imperial chrysobulls to Venice, including Alexios III's of November 1198 with its list of the provinces and towns of the Empire where Venetians traded, the best single picture of the imperial provinces as they stood on 1 January 1200, together with the Pisan and Genoese privileges. Read online
Sources and studies
- Arcidiocesi di Genova (it.wikipedia)
- Sanremo (it.wikipedia)
- Sanremo (en.wikipedia)
- Ceriana (it.wikipedia)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.