Genoa: The Forgotten Merchant Power

There was Rome and its Republic and eventual Empire. Then there was Venice and its Maritime empire. But lost in all this was the Ligurian city of Genoa (or The Most Serene Republic of Genoa) which was a merchant power in its own right in the Middle-Ages into the Renaissance.

Like Venice, Genoa was an independent city-state made wealthy due to their participation in the Crusades and Venice's main commercial rival culminating into several major wars between the two.

The image isn't clear but see it here.