Simone Boccanegra (; lij, Scimon Boccaneigra ; died 1363) was the first

Doge of Genoa The Doge of Genoa ( lij, Dûxe, ; la, Januensium dux et populi defensor, "Commander of the Genoese and Defender of the People") was the ruler of the Republic of Genoa, a city-state and soon afterwards a maritime republic, from 1339 until the s ...

. He became doge in 1339, but was ousted from power six years later. He regained the position in 1356, retaining it until his death in 1363. His story was popularized by

Antonio García Gutiérrez Antonio García Gutiérrez (4 October 1813 in Chiclana de la Frontera, Cádiz26 August 1884 in Madrid) was a Spanish Romantic dramatist. Biography After having studied medicine in his native town, García Gutiérrez moved to Madrid in 1833 a ...

's 1843 play ''Simón Bocanegra'' and

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's 1857 opera ''

Simon Boccanegra ''Simon Boccanegra'' () is an opera with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play ''Simón Bocanegra'' (1843) by Antonio García Gutiérrez, whose play ''El trovador'' had b ...

''.

Family background

Simone Boccanegra belonged to the wealthy Genoese Boccanegra family of merchants, a family that had among its members

Guglielmo Boccanegra Guglielmo Boccanegra was a Genoese statesman, the first ''capitano del popolo'' of the Republic of Genoa, from 1257 to 1262, exercising a real lordship, assisted in the government by a council of 32 elders. Biography Origin and early years Th ...

, who in 1257 became a virtual dictator of the Republic of Genoa when an insurrection against the government of the old aristocracy made him gain the control of the republic. Guglielmo Boccanegra was also the commissioner, in 1260, of the building of

Palazzo San Giorgio The Palazzo San Giorgio or Palace of St. George (also known as the Palazzo delle Compere di San Giorgio) is a palace in Genoa, Italy. It is situated in the Piazza Caricamento. The palace was built in 1260 by Guglielmo Boccanegra, uncle of Simo ...

, the future seat of republican power in the republic.

Life as doge

Boccanegra was elected doge for life on 23 December 1339. Boccanegra was opposed by the aristocratic faction, representing the old mercantile patriciate, which his first actions excluded from public life. With the old patriciate excluded from power, a new class of mercantile houses arose:

Adorno Theodor W. Adorno ( , ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, sociologist, psychologist, musicologist, and composer. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of critica ...

, Guarco,

Fregoso The House of Fregoso or di Campofregoso was a noble family of the Republic of Genoa and Liguria in general, divided into numerous branches, whose members distinguished themselves on numerous historical occasions; many of them held the position of ...

, and Montaldo. During Boccanegra's dogate, Genoese control was extended the length of both the French and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Rivieras, with the exception of the Grimaldi holdings in Monaco and Ventimiglia. Simone's brother Egidio, was a grand admiral in the service of

Alfonso XI of Castile Alfonso XI (13 August 131126 March 1350), called the Avenger (''el Justiciero''), was King of Castile and León. He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes en ...

, and inflicted a memorable defeat on a Moroccan fleet off

Algeciras Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...

in 1344. There were constant conspiracies and even attempts against Boccanegra's life from the start. (The first conspirator's head rolled on 20 December 1339.) This led to the establishment of a bodyguard of 103 mounted soldiers. For Boccanegra's security, these were drawn from

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

, the inveterate enemy of Genoa, where, however, Simone's brother Niccolò was "

Capitano del popolo Captain of the People ( it, Capitano del popolo, Lombard: ''Capitani del Popol'') was an administrative title used in Italy during the Middle Ages, established essentially to balance the power and authority of the noble families of the Italian ci ...

", their mother having been a Pisan aristocrat.

Resignation and death

Boccanegra was forced to resign his office at a public meeting he had called on 23 December 1345. He was succeeded by Giovanni I di Murta, who died in early January 1350 and then by

Giovanni II Valente Giovanni II Valente (Genoa, 1280 – Genoa, 1360) was the third doge of the Republic of Genoa. His time in office was marked by the crushing defeat of the city against the Venetians at the naval Battle of Alghero. Giovanni had already asked to ...

, who ruled as chief magistrate, until Boccanegra regained power in 1356. Boccanegra died in 1363, possibly having been poisoned by agents of his enemies.

In culture

The

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

poet

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited w ...

wrote letters to the people of Genoa and to the

doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 a ...

appealing to them to end their fratricidal wars and find a common aim. These letters were among Verdi's inspirations for the revision of the opera in 1881. Simone Boccanegra's tomb in the no longer extant church of San Francesco in Castelletto was decorated with a remarkable funeral sculpture, depicting him as if lying in state with extraordinary realism in his features. This sculpture is now in the Museum of Sant'Agostino.

References

External links