{"id":4947,"date":"2019-10-13T16:07:28","date_gmt":"2019-10-13T14:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=4947"},"modified":"2021-09-12T16:42:40","modified_gmt":"2021-09-12T14:42:40","slug":"celebrating-columbus-day-in-genova","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/celebrating-columbus-day-in-genova\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Columbus Day in Genova"},"content":{"rendered":"
Imagine celebrating Columbus Day IN Genova, the hometown of Christopher Columbus. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do that when I passed through the area a few years ago. In fact, I was about two weeks too early, and I only saw the train station, disappointed that I didn\u2019t have an opportunity to explore this important port town in Northwest Italy. But it did get me thinking about Ol’ Chris and the controversy surrounding his special day in recent years. More on that in a minute…<\/p>\n
Historically, Genova (Genoa in English) was one of the four major Maritime Republics of Italy (Venezia, Pisa, and Amalfi being the other three). During the Middle Ages, they had an extremely powerful naval force. If you study the flag of the Maritime Republics, you\u2019ll notice that Genova (upper right quadrant) is represented by the Cross of Saint George, which bears a striking resemblance to the flag of England.<\/p>\n
This is no coincidence. As Prince Edward, Duke of Kent said, \u201cThe St. George\u2019s flag, a red cross on a white field, was adopted by England and the City of London in 1190 for their ships entering the Mediterranean to benefit from the protection of the Genovese fleet. The English Monarch paid an annual tribute to the Doge of Genoa for this privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n
(*There has been some dispute of this statement, but there you have it.)<\/p>\n