Genoa

## History

OwlArchitect applied for Genoa on April 2, 2017 and the application was accepted on April 3. Burhan4 and LoadedCube helped to build up Genoa originally, and resided in the current Estate of Tarek Fadil. kingofmistory also built a large home where the current stables were, but left due to a disagreement and his home was demolished.

On April 5, Italy & France declared war on the newly formed Northern Italian Republic (formed March 27, 2017). Although Genoa communicated with both sides, it decided to remain neutral since the war's more powerful side wasn't yet clear. (For a short period Genoa agreed to be a NIR ally, but this alliance was voided) If it picked the losing side, then it would lose territory, but if it picked the winning side it would gain territory. After the Northern Italian Republic surrender on April 14, many feared Italy would invade Genoa next in its quest to unite the Italian peninsula. Fortunately for Genoa, Italy never invaded.

Meanwhile, on April 8, Genoa decided to denounce Piedmont because they had "held back and tried to take advantage of Genoa for decades!" However, Genoa never acted on this and never actually invaded Piedmont. Also during this week, Genoa built a relationship with the nation of Saudia, especially its leader Aliardi. Genoese architects assisted in building Saudi buildings in its capital and even built the palace dome. In return, Saudia sold Bahrain to Genoa on April 9, allowing it to become the first nation to colonize the Middle East. On April 15, after completing ships and a port in Bahrain, Genoa colonized Socotra. Over the next weeks/months, a farm and a few buildings were constructed and Socotra became the main food supply for Genoa. On May 4, Genoa colonized land surrounding the Mandeb Strait, including Aden and Djibouti.

After establishing an alliance with the nation of Ragusa, Genoa hosted the European Small Nations Assembly in the Doge's Palace on April 20. Ragusa, Andorra, Genoa, Tuscany, Corsica, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Greece were invited. Representatives and/or leaders from Genoa, Ragusa, Tuscany, Greece, and the Electorate of Cologne attended and discussed the place of small nations in the world. Tuscany and Genoa also formed an alliance at this meeting and established embassies in each others' countries. Genoa was also invited to the Mediterranean Assembly in Madrid (April 29) and the doge attended.

On April 22, Croatia declared a war of unification against Ragusa. Genoa condemned this action and was considering an intervention until Ragusa's mason6226's surrender on May 2. On May 21, in a closed-door meeting with Krakevell, the leader of the Sahara Union, Genoa agreed to help them in an upcoming war. However, this war never took place.

On May 28, Corsica declared war on Italy, and Genoa decided again to remain neutral. It resulted in a stalemate.

On June 1, after a bit of inactivity, Genoa began recruiting more members and built a lighthouse in Yemen. In Socotra, a few members built homes and expanded the farm. TriggeredEsta and others helped to revitalize Genoa for a few weeks, but eventually left the country.

On July 16, Genoa attended a meeting in Vienna, German Empire to discuss the role of imperial/colonial powers. This meeting established an economic and military alliance with the major powers in Europe (UK, Germany, Denmark, Sweden) to protect against the United States.

On July 30, OwlArchitect constructed the new lemon gardens behind the Doge's Palace, secretly as a shrine for the Cult of the Lemon.

On July 25, Piedmont denounced Genoa for denying their proposal to purchase Genoa's western exclave, although this never took place in roleplay. On that same day, they declared war against Genoa with the goal of annexing all of Genoa's European land and also their Mandeb Strait colony. In response, Genoa became a vassal of Germany to gain their protection and also to revitalize the struggling nation. The war application was denied as it "contradicted their stance of neutrality against Germany".

on August 6, after a failed attempt to invade Genoa, Piedmont turned to the north and applied to invade Switzerland and it was accepted on August 7. Switzerland won the first battle on August 12 after finding no soldiers in Piedmont's northern forts and claimed land in northwestern Piedmont.

On August 11, Piedmont formed the Turin Pact and invited Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK, the Ottoman Empire, Croatia, Alaska, and Cherokee. It is meant to be an alliance that has the benefit of free trade, open borders, etc, and is meant as a peacekeeping/war managing alliance and not as a defensive or offensive military alliance.

Also on August 12, Genoa sold the former home of burhan4 and LoadedCube to Tarek Fadil (Thormakt), who wishes to assist in defending Genoa against potential threats. The home was sold for 3.5k. On August 13, it was discovered that Piedmont had seized the Genoese Embassy in Piedmont without warning and had claimed it as its own. This act was viewed as a violation of international norms and was condemned (or at least frowned upon) by leaders from the US and Italy. Piedmont claimed that since Genoa and Piedmont had not been allies for the past few days that they were simply removing an irrelevant building. This action was viewed by Genoa as an escalation of already tense relations between Piedmont and Genoa. In anticipation of a potential invasion, Maverick Industries assisted Genoa by constructing walls along the Genoa-Piedmont border beginning on August 13. On the same day, Italy met with Piedmont to discuss their recent actions. Italy then opened an embassy in Genoa, as a counterpart to the already-existing Genoese embassy in Palermo, after a productive meeting between Italy and Genoa in Sicily. The next day, in response to this action, Piedmont denounced Genoa on the grounds that they were, "*mobilizing their army in the south," and added, "If they do not stop building defensive structures they might risk war*."

The Genoese Embassy in Piedmont was given back to the Genoese on August 16.

    After fascist riots in Italy the day before, the North Atlantic Peace Organization unanimously voted to send military support to Italy on August 14. These riots were mostly due to Piedmont's recent government switch to fascism. It only took two days (8 months irp) for fascist protesters to appear in Italy. It was feared that they may also begin protesting in Genoa if the situation was not contained in Italy. The protests intensified after the death of Alexandros Numerius, the Italian king, who was later replaced by his son, Marco.

 On August 17, the Swiss Foreign Office sent a letter to Genoa requesting passage through the country to attack Turin. In response, Genoa decided to grant their request, with terms of course, but also extend that same offer to Piedmont to not show favoritism or non-neutrality. On August 18, Giovanni Durazzo, the Genoese Doge, met with Benito Svedini onboard the Piedmontese aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean. This was at the Doge's request, and Svedini offered to meet in a neutral location, however, as a show of strength, the Doge refused. The Doge offered the Piedmontese passage through Genoa, however, they denied citing a concern about disrupting the Genoese population. They also discussed Piedmont's recent designation of races that included the Genoese as "subhuman". After a long, positive discussion, Piedmont decided to upgrade the Genoese to "inferior". Also, Durazzo stated that he "would consider" Piedmont's merging offer after the Swiss-Piedmont war had concluded since Piedmont had given Genoa its embassy back.

Also on August 18, Durazzo met with Marco Numerius for the first time in Sicily to discuss Piedmont, Greece, merging, and other matters. Durazzo also met with the Greek boy king, who was seven at the time, and Lord-Regent Sergious Doukas in the Ducal Palace. They discussed Italy's claims in Greece, Ottoman claims in Greece, Genoese colonies, non-aggression between Genoa and Greece, and Greece's future plans.

After the Piedmontese conquest of the Swiss capital, Zurich, Genoa offered asylum to all Swiss refugees on August 20.

On August 21, Greece declared war on Italy, with its allies Piedmont and Sweden, to reclaim historically Greek lands owned by Italy. In response, Italy declared war on Italy on August 22, with the help of France and the US. On the same day Piedmont "blockaded" a portion of the Mediterranean Sea, preventing "enemies" (France, USA, Italy, NAPO) from entering the region. This action angered Genoa, who believes in free trade and also fears it being enforced upon Genoa. Also on the same day, Genoa expressed interest in joining the World Neutrality Association (currently Portugal & Ottoman Empire), and requested a meeting with Portugal to learn more about the alliance.

    On August 22, Genoa's Office of Foreign Affairs issued a short statement warning its consulate staff in Palermo of potential violence near or within the complex due to the ongoing riots in Italy, which occurred after NAPO and Canadian troops withdrew, greatly decreasing Italy's ability to maintain internal security.

 On August 26, Genoa discussed with Piedmont's leader, Benito Svedini, the terms of their merger. Nothing was finalized, but they planned to merge after the war. Giovanni Durazzo also met with Portugal's leader, King Alexandro II, to discuss the specifics of joining the World Neutrality Association. In the end, Genoa decided to consider their offer and eventually decided against joining.

On August 27, Genoa signed the "Treaty of Genoa City" with Saudia (now Palestine). The agreement stated that the Colonists of both countries will NOT hurt any person from Genoa and Saudia. Colonists who do so will be executed. Also, Genoese and Saudian militants will cease fire if skirmishes do occur. The agreement regulated trade between the two countries to be in Bahrain or New Jerusalem (west of Bahrain on coast). All trade must be by merchants or the Saudi or Genoan governments. Giovanni Durazzo also attended the state funeral of King Alexandro II in Lisbon, Portugal. He also attended the wedding of the UK Queen (Ashethyl) and the RFS Emperor (Gamer\_Titan), however the wedding was rescheduled due to problems.

On August 27, Genoa joined the International Society of Record Keepers. On September 2, in response to Saudian colonial attempts in Arabia, Genoa issued this statement:

"*Genoa is angered by this poorly veiled attempt by the Saudians to cut off Genoa's Yemen colony from the rest of the peninsula."*

Genoa also officially changed the former Italian embassy in Palermo, which was given to Piedmont after the Italian surrender, to Genoa's Piedmont-Sardinian consulate on 9/2 and also allowed Piedmont to open an embassy in the former German embassy. As a result, negotiations between Genoa and Piedmont resulted in Genoa granting Piedmont access to create a colony in Africa through the Genoa controlled Mandeb Strait.

    On September 7, Genoese leader Marcello Durazzo (OwlArchitect) met with Aviere Svedini (Svedzko), who was accompanied by his guard Antoine Silvin (OliverPanda) to discuss the conditions of their merger. The discussion went well although they have not decided on the specific merger terms or a definite date to officially merge.

On September 16, Marcello Durazzo received a letter from Archbishop Felix Gmur of Switzerland requesting access to Genoese land for war purposes. He denied this request, however, it made him think of the cost of war in the Northern Italian region. It inspired his "Call for Peace" speech. Here is what he said:

***"Our nation has long been a beacon of peace and stability in a war-torn region to which our neighbors have sewn chaos. For as long as I can remember, the people of Italy have greatly suffered. The masses have been forced to fight the wars against "enemies" they have never met, never knew, and will never know. These soldiers believe they fight for honor or justice, but they are simply pawns in the war games of their reckless leaders. But Genoa knows that war is no game, not for those fighting it. War burns great cities to the ground, war topples great civilizations, and war destroys families. Our neighbors have lived in agony and despair for long enough! It is time to hold your leader accountable for their actions, and it is time to end their conflicts. The people of Switzerland, I call on you to hold your leaders ACCOUNTABLE and force them to accept white peace, or, if that is no longer an option, surrender to the Piedmontese forces! It is time for this WAR TO END. I call for unity in the North, I call for prosperity in the North, and I call for PEACE in the North! The people of Northern Italy, only if we end our petty squabbles, can usher in a new golden age of unity! The creation of a unified Northern Italian state would usher in that new era. We must recognize that, in the end, wars are too costly to be worth the prices we pay to wage them."***

## Notable Residents

Marcello Durazzo (Doge of Genoa 1812-1840)

Giovanni Durazzo (Doge of Genoa 1769-1812)