xxix). By the thirteenth century the city had become a major banking and trade center--with banking especially important because the region was short of domestic products to export and relied on operating as middle-man for other nations. Genova's ships traded in England, the Netherlands and Germany and, in the east, in the Crimea and Turkey. They even had a small colony in Brazil in the sixteenth century. Because the importing of grain was the key to their trade, they established trading colonies on the Black Sea to manage the export of wheat from Russia and Asia. The huge amounts imported by the Genovese enabled them to satisfy domestic demand and to establish a thriving business in the manufacture and commercial export of pasta. Their reputation was international and, "an English wisecrack of the period described Genova as 'more marketplace than nation'" (Andrews xl).
Imports were a major concern because Genova, with 100,000 people, was the only important medieval city that was almost purely a city--with no extensive countryside to provide economic support. The entroterra offered some food products for trade, but the "few vines, olive trees, and kitchen gardens" on the slopes near Genova provided only a small portion of the necessary food (Andrews xl).
In agriculture, olive-growing was Liguria's "economic mainstay" (Griffa 48). But, as production costs increased, largely because labor and transportation were so expensive for the terraced groves of the mountainous region, oil production declined. Since World War II, olives and flowers have been the principal market products of Liguria, but "competition is fierce between large and small producers," and most Ligurians have abandoned market agriculture for industry--manufacturing steel, ships, machinery, chemicals, and processed foods--especially pasta (Griffa 48).
Tourism is another major industry in Liguria--though travelers prefer to call it the Italian Riviera. T...