An ancient Land

In order to appreciate the unique beauty of Liguria, it is just not possible to separate the breath taking views to the history of this land; pointed by silent witnesses all over its territory. According to the written sources, the presence of the Ligurians dates back to the first millennium B.C. They were spread on a large territory, mostly the north-western Italy.
On the other hand it is really important to underline that here lived one of the most ancient culture worldwide, being the southern east part of the Region populated since the 4th milleniun A.C. by a mysterious population, the Liguri-Apuani, which left in the woods tens of menir, statues and tombs which are still visible (for example in the La Spezia museum).
In Liguria the Romans had to face one of the strongest resistances of its history, with a war lasted over 200 years numberless battles and thousands of killing. The time between 238 a.C. (238 a.C. «Adversus Ligures tunc primum exercitus promotus est» [Liv,per. 20]
– 14 a.C. the value Ligurian population, was showed by attacking, with unpair forces the Roman territory itself, as described in “De bello Apuano” and other sources.
The war between Ligurian and Roman also saw the first mass deportation of the history, with over 40.000 families obliged to leave Liguria and leaving in Benevento area.
This land had seen a lot of different tribes and population pass and settle for a while on its territory. The Romans left it the great Roman roads like Aurelia and Julia Augusta on the coast, which helped strengthen the territorial unity and trade. A little Ligurian town of Luni is now a famous archeological site because of its rich history under the Romans and other people that were settled there. Between the 4th and the 10th centuries the land was dominated by the Byzantine, the Lombards, the Franks, it was invaded by the Saracens and the Normans.
In the 10th century, at the moment of peace, Liguria was divided into three marches: Obertenga, Arduinica and Aleramica. Soon, the main Ligurian towns became city-states and Genoa very soon extended its rule over them. Between the 11th and the 15th centuries the Republic of Genoa became the most powerful maritime republic. It was the period of wealth and progress. There are a lot of ancient churches from this period that still proudly stand and show the history on their walls. The very characteristic and antic art of weaving wool, cotton or silk in Liguria was imported from the Orient thanks to the crusades and maritime expeditions made by Ligurians in this period. It is often said that the history of Liguria in these centuries should be searched out of the land. Another characteristic hand-crafted art of this land, the filigree, was also imported to Liguria mostly from the Orient, but it became a real serious mark of Liguria, which made these ornaments of gold and silver even for the foreign countries like America and Australia.
In the centuries to come, the republic, after being the main power imposing its rule, declinated passing through various stages and being influenced by other states, as Milan, until it was transformed into Ligurian Republic, using as a model the French republic. After the congress of Vienna(1815), Liguria was annexed to the kingdom of Sardinia. In the Genoese rising against the House of Savoy, and the final Unification of Italy, some of the most important roles were played by famous Ligurians as Garibaldi, Mazzini, Bixio, Mameli.