Simone Boccanegra
Simone Boccanegra (* before 1339; † 1363 ) was the first Doge of Genoa . His life story is treated in the opera Simon Boccanegra by Giuseppe Verdi .
Life
Boccanegra was elected Doge of Genoa as Ghibelline in 1339 . He expanded the territory of the Republic of Genoa along the Riviera and sent galleys to Spain to help Alfonso XI. to assist in his fight against the Saracens .
Numerous assassinations were carried out on him, the first conspirator was executed on December 20, 1339 in the first year of his reign. Boccanegra was always surrounded by a 103-strong mounted bodyguard, as he constantly feared for his life.
On December 23, 1345 he was forced to give up government business at a people's assembly called by himself. Giovanni Valente then served as the highest magistrate for eleven years, until Boccanegra came back to power in 1356. He was fatally poisoned in 1363.
Boccanegra's tomb in the Church of San Francesco in Castelletto was covered with a sculpture depicting him in lay out . His facial features are worked out in great detail on this. The sculpture is now in the Museo di Sant'Agostino in Genoa.
Web links
- Information about Boccanegra (Italian)
- Figure of the sculpture on his grave (Italian)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Boccanegra, Simone |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | first doge of Genoa |
| DATE OF BIRTH | before 1339 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1363 |