The fortress town on its white cliffs at the southern tip of Corsica, commanding the strait between Corsica and Sardinia.
Founded or refounded by Boniface of Tuscany about 828-833, held by Pisa in the twelfth century apart from brief Genoese seizures, it was taken by Genoa in 1195: the Genoese expelled most of the inhabitants, settled Ligurian colonists and gave the town its first statutes and a podestà. A Pisan attempt to retake it in 1196 was beaten off, and in 1198 the Genoese strengthened the citadel and covered the port with galleys (fr.wikipedia, following local histories). Pisa will try to recover it for twenty years; the pope takes it into his protection in 1217.
Who holds it
- Name
- Not pinned for 1200 (the first Genoese podestà is named as Marcellino Drudo in 1195, fr.wikipedia)
- Title
- Podestà for the commune of Genoa
- Confidence
- low
Lord in 1200
The commune of Genoa, through a podestà and castellan.
How things stand that morning
On 1 January 1200 a Genoese colony and fortress, at war with Pisa at sea, with no truce.
Charter
Genoese statutes (capitoli) of 1195; later privileges include salt-making and, by local tradition, coinage [thin].
Council
The Genoese podestà and the colonists' assembly [thin].
Communities
Ligurian colonists; a remnant of the old inhabitants.
Militia
Genoese garrison and colonists.
Walls and castle
The citadel on the promontory, strengthened in 1198; the harbour in the deep inlet below.
Trade and crafts
Control of the strait; salt, coral and fishing; a base for Genoese shipping to Sardinia and Africa.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- During 1200Pisan pressure on Bonifacio and the strait continues; no dated attack in 1200.Depends on: No peace between Pisa and Genoa. Stopped by: A papal truce.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The 1195 capture is certain; the details of 1195-1198 come from local histories reported by French Wikipedia.
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
- Bonifacio (fr.wikipedia)
- Storia della Corsica (it.wikipedia)
- Northern Italy map, Genoa realm record lig-genoa (/home/claude/research/itn/lig.json)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.