GENOA, a celebrated city in the of Italy, is situ ated in Lat. 44° 25' N. and Long. 8° 53' E. on the not thorn shores of the Mediterranean. It is built in the form of an amphitheatre, on the slope of a mountain, rising gradually from the sea, having for a centre the harbour, which is of very considerable extent, and having sufficient depth of water to admit a ship of 44 guns. The harbour is protect ed on two sides by piers, which, however, are sometimes found insufficient to shelter the vessels from the south-west wind, which although it does not blow directly into the port, often occasions considerable damage. The entrance also to the harbour, although wide, is not free from dan ger, and can only he approached with safety from the ease side.
Genoa is surrounded by two ramparts, one of which in closes the town, and is about six miles in circuit ; and the other, which forms a circumference of thirteen miles, is carried round the hills which command the city. The ex ternal appearance is extremely magnificent. In no other city in the world is there to be found such a profusion of marble and other rich materials, both in public and private edifices ; while their situation on terraces, ascending one above the other, adds an additional degree of splendour to their appearance. On entering the city, however, the nar rowness and darkness of the streets produce a mean effect, but ill corresponding with its magnificent exterior, although lined with palaces of vast and lofty dimensions, some entirely of marble, and all ornamented with marble portals, porticos, and columns. The interior of these mansions is no less magnificent. The staircases are of marble, and the long suites of spacious saloons, opening into each other, are adorned with the richest marbles and tapestries, with valua ble paintings, and gilded cornices and pannels. Of these, the most remarkable are those of the Doria, Durazzo, Bal. bi, and Serra families. The first of these (consecrated by the recollection of the restorer of his country's liberties,) is a beautiful specimen of the pure and simple stile of archi tecture, but in magnitude and splendour is far surpassed by the Durazzo palace, which, both in its materials and fur niture, is superior to the abodes of most of the sovereigns of Europe.
The public buildings of Genoa are no less splendid than the abodes of her citizens ; but the profusion of party coloured marbles and gilding, which gives an air of wealth and grandeur to the palaces, is offensive to the eye of taste in churches and temples, where all unnecessary and gaudy ornaments detract from that simplicity which should al ways characterize such edifices. Of this description are the cathedral of St Laurence, the churches of the Annun ciation, St Siro, and St Dominic. That of Santa Maria di Carignano is in a purer style, and placed in a very com manding situation. It was built about the middle of the 16th century, at the expense of Bendinelli Satin, a noble citizen of Genoa. The approach to this church is by a lofty bridge of three arches, about 90 feet high, across a deep dell, now a street. Genoa owes this building also to the munificence of the Sauli family. It was begun by the grandson, and finished in the year 1725, by the great-great grandson of the founder of the church di Carignano.
The great hospital or infirmary is a magnificent building, which was formerly possessed of ample funds, dedicated to the relief of the sick or infirm of the poorer classes ; but these and the funds of the Albergo del Poveri, another charitable institution on the same grand scale, have been swallowed up by the exactions of the French armies, and the edifices remain as monuments of the munificence of former times, and serving- only, like the city itself, to recal to the recollection of the traveller the days of the commer cial greatness, the military glut y, and the freedom of the repul)lic.
The population of Genoa in the year 1766, amounted to 100.000, and in 1800 to The suburbs of and Polcevera were supposed to contain 20,000, and the total population of the Ligurian territory, The ordinary military force of the state was about 3000 ; in the Spanish succession war, however, the contingent of the re public amounted to 10,000.