Genoa and the Genoese, 958-1528

Rating:
Summary: The Ligurian Republic
Review: Epstein's book, a description of Genoa from its tenth century origins to its sixteenth-century decline, is fine as an economic history and also deals very competently with issues of local governance and administration. We briefly encounter leading luminaries such as Christopher Columbus and Andrea Doria, we learn of wars between Pope, King and Emperor and we read from contemporary medieval sources describing Genoans as proud, peevish and altogether difficult to get along with. But between these facts and events there is a real lack of narrative - especially compared with Norwich's History of Venice. Useful, but not hammock reading.