GENOA, a city, the capital of the duchy of that name, is the seat of an archbishop, of the government boards, and of the senate. It is in the form of an amphitheatre, the streets rising above one another from the sea-shore, so that it has a magnificent appearance at a distance. It is surrounded with fortifications, which are very extensive, as they enclose both gardens and fields. The interior of the enclosure or city consists of irregular and narrow streets, in which magnificent palaces and houses six stories high are crowded together. The Strada Novi and
the Strada Balbi, which consist of palaces, are not more than twenty-four feet wide, and the Piazza Reale is the only part which is tolerably open and airy. The city contains, besides the cathedral, fifty-two parish churches, and sixty-nine others belonging to different convents. There are several hospitals, two of which receive 1000 patients each, and several other charitable institutions. There is a university, with a library of 70,000 volumes and 1000 manuscript works, besides other establishments for instruction in the fine arts and the sciences.
The most remarkable object is the harbour, enclosed by two moles, each 7000 feet in length, at the termination of which stand the light-houses. It is capable of receiving ships of the greatest draught of water, which are secure against all winds but that directly south. More than 3000 vessels, besides coasters, enter it yearly. The inhabitants are industrious, and provide many articles for commerce, which are noticed in the account of the duchy in this work. The theatres and other conveniences are numerous, and splendidly conducted, as in other Italian cities. Long. 8. 53. 2. E. Lat. 44. 23. 48. N.