Page 114 - Lanzarotto Malocello from Italy to the Canary Islands

114 from Italy to the Canary Islands

conceived it and also thanks to the line of fire of the princes of Trebizond
and Nicaea who put themselves forward as continuers of the Greek Em-
pire. And so, Constantinople was tempting, but to obtain it, it was essential
to have an exemplary fleet both to conquer and, subsequently, to defend
it. Giovanni Vatace had already contacted Genoa in 1239 with the idea of
settling agreements for such a project; however, the situation ripened just
after the Genoese defeat at Acre. In exchange for help from Genoa for
the reconquest of Constantinople, Michael VIII Palaiologos, who named
himself heir of the Byzantine Empire, offered outstanding privileges to the
Dominant city.
The agreement was a sort of eternal attacking and defensive alliance
with Venice. With the Treaty of Nymphaeum, Genoa obtained from Mi-
chael VIII Palaiologos the right to succession in the possession of the
Venetian quarter of Constantinople and therefore of the storehouses, fiscal
privileges in all the ports of the Aegean Sea, the possession of İzmir and, in
other words, free trade in all the lands and ports of the Empire.
When, after just four months, the Latin Empire fell – Genoa had taken
part in the feat with the fleet of Marino Boccanegro – the Dominant city
immediately acquired the Venetian quarter and all the privileges provided
for in the Treaty of Nymphaeum.
Now, as is often the case, even in the most advantageous operations
for the people, Boccanegra’s political masterpiece would also mark his
end in politics. The Guelph Rampini faction, exhausted by Boccanegra’s
measures for buffering the financial crisis and taking the path of excom-
munication which Pope Urban IV had provided for those who stood next
to the Greek Empire as allies, plotted a revolt, during which Guglielmo
Boccanegra’s brother – Lanfranco – died. This event and the fall of Boc-
canegra brought the government of the podestà back into the light.
So Genoa experienced a prosperous moment from a financial standpoint
in the period following the fall of the emperor Frederick II. This period was
followed by another which can also be described as favourable, despite the
fact that the Captain Boccanegra was affected by a serious economic cri-
sis; a period of splendour for the Dominant city would then be achieved
in that time marked by the so-called “Diarchy of the two Obertis”. In this
period Genoa would also maintain supremacy of the Mediterranean Sea –
the victory over the Pisans on Meloria in 1284 would be significant in this
case – and then, defeating Venice on Korčula, in the Dalmatian waters, it
would also hold its own quite well in the sea off Venice.