Giacomo Maria Brignole Sale (1724 – 1801) was the 176th and 184th

Doge A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics". Etymology The ...

of the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...

, respectively from 1779 to 1781 and from 1795 to 1797. He was the last doge in the history of the Republic, and the only one elected twice, a unique case in the history of that Republic for the biennial election doges. After Brignole's dogeship the Genoese state and the office were abolished.

Life as the Doge of the Republic

First term

The coronation ceremony was held on 13 September 1779 inside the Church of Santi Ambrogio and Andrea, since the

Palazzo Ducale Several palaces are named Ducal Palace (Italian: ''Palazzo Ducale'' ) because it was the seat or residence of a duke. Notable palaces with the name include: France * Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, Dijon * Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine, Nancy * ...

's hall of the Grand Council was not accessible due to the fire of 1777, and subsequent reconstruction work. The first term of Doge Brignole was marked by a virulent smallpox epidemic which quickly spread throughout the Republic and by the numerous incursions of the Barbary pirates along the coasts of Liguria. A fortunate expedition against the raiders, mounted by Gerolamo Durazzo, Brignole's brother-in-law, allowed Captain Giovanni De Marchi to kidnap several

Xebec A xebec ( or ), also spelled zebec, was a Mediterranean sailing ship that was used mostly for trading. Xebecs had a long overhanging bowsprit and aft-set mizzen mast. The term can also refer to a small, fast vessel of the sixteenth to nineteenth ...

s off

Bordighera Bordighera (; lij, A Bordighea, locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Imperia, Liguria (Italy). Geography Bordighera is located from the land border between Italy and France, and it is possible to see the French coast with a nak ...

. taking more than fifty. Brignole left office on 4 March 1781, entering the junta of the Borders and then that of the Jurisdiction; from 1788 to 1796 he was the principal state inquisitor and in this capacity he managed to approve, at the end of 1790, a new stricter regulation of censorship.

Second term

In a climate now surreal and close to decline, Giacomo Maria Brignole was elected on 17 November 1796 once again a Genoese doge, a unique fact in the secular history of the Republic of Genoa. For the difficult moment he refused any kind of celebration and the consequent coronation ceremony. With

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

increasingly at the western gates of the Republic of Genoa, the policy of Doge Brignole was based entirely on the neutrality of the Genoese state which did not want and should not join the Austro-

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

coalition against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The situation began to precipitate for the customs government with the increasingly victorious Napoleonic battles and which inevitably sparked the first "followers" among the noble representatives and among the Genoese people. The same representative of France residing in Genoa, Guillaume-Charles Faipoult, had direct orders from Napoleon to follow events in the capital of the republic. In May 1797, arrests of some

Jacobin , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = Pa ...

rioters followed, which caused unrest in the city and in fact now divided the minds of the Genoese in favor or against the ever-growing Napoleonic power. The doge's son Gian Carlo Brignole also participated in the clashes with the Genoese Jacobins. Now pressured by troops from across the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

, he agreed with the senators to send an embassy to Bonaparte, who negotiated the establishment of a provisional government headed by the same doge Giacomo Maria Brignole on 14 June 1797, with the aim to draft a democratic constitution.

Under Napoleon's rule

In a Republic of Genoa almost canceled by the Napoleonic events, the figure of the ex doge Brignole was chosen as the representative of a provisional government of the newly constituted

Ligurian Republic The Ligurian Republic ( it, Repubblica Ligure, lij, Repubbrica Ligure) was a French client republic formed by Napoleon on 14 June 1797. It consisted of the old Republic of Genoa, which covered most of the Ligurian region of Northwest Italy, and ...

, whose power was concentrated in the role of the doge and twelve senators, as well as various representatives pro-French and pro-Bonapartist nobility. However, the title of doge was abolished on 17 June that year - after the observations made by the lawyer Gaetano Marré of Borzonasca to the Municipality and to the doge himself. it was replaced with the title "President of the provisional government of the Ligurian Republic", descriptive of Brignole's effective role. He maintained in this precarious role, absenting himself whenever possible, until 17 January 1798, when a Directory took over.

Later years

In August 1798 some important people of the former Republic of Genoa, defined "dangerous individuals", were expelled from the state, among them Brignole, Stefano Rivarola, the brothers Girolamo, Giovanni Battista Serra and the Jacobean marquis Gaspare Sauli. Of the group, the two Serra brothers went to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Giacomo Maria Brignole and Gaspare Sauli to

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and Stefano Rivarola to his

Chiavari Chiavari (; lij, Ciävai ) is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in Italy. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It is situated near the river Entella. History Pre-Roman and Roman Era A pre-Roman necropolis, which dates f ...

ese lands. Brignole took up residence at the convent of San Paolino in Florence where he died on 21 December 1801.

Personal life

Brignole married Barbara Durazzo, with whom he had six children. The eldest son Gian Carlo was finance minister of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

from 1816 to 1824. The Palazzo Gio Carlo Brignole in Genoa was his property until 1798.