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Titolo dell'opera:

Letter from the Protectors of the Purchases of St. George to Christopher Columbus

Acquisizione:

Famiglia Oderico 1821 Genova - donazione

Autore:

Colombo, Cristoforo

Object Type:

manuscript

Epoca:

1502/12/08 - 1502/12/08 - XVI

Inventario:

4239

Misure:

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 30; Larghezza: 20

Tecnica:

carta- inchiostro

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Letter from the Protectors of the Purchases of St. George to Christopher Columbus

Descrizione:

At the end of 1502, the Protectors of St. George replied to Columbus' letter from the previous April. The letter was sent to Spain, but it was never delivered. Why? The reason has never been clarified and, as historian Paolo Emilio Taviani pointed out, it remains a mystery. The most likely hypothesis is that the new Genoese “oratore” (ambassador) to the Spanish court, Gerolamo Di Negro - who had replaced Oderico, an old friend of Columbus - either did not receive it or considered Don Diego's succession to the privileges obtained by his father to be compromised. Given the complex relations between the Spanish court and Genoa, he may have opted for what could be considered the lesser evil: abandoning Columbus and his men to their fate.

In the absence of evidence or confirmation, whether the negligence in pursuing the letter from the Banco was the result of a choice or mere chance cannot be proven. Handwritten letter.

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Titolo dell'opera:

Letter from Christopher Columbus to Nicolò Oderico

Acquisizione:

Famiglia Oderico 1821 Genova - donazione

Autore:

Colombo, Cristoforo

Object Type:

manuscript

Epoca:

1504/12/27 - 1504/12/27 - XVI

Inventario:

4238

Misure:

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 30; Larghezza: 20

Tecnica:

carta- inchiostro

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Letter from Christopher Columbus to Nicolò Oderico

Descrizione:

Columbus has just returned from his fourth and final voyage and notes, among the many disappointments that his return has brought him, that he has received no reply from Genoa to his letter of 2 April 1502. The letters had actually been sent via the new Genoese ambassador to the Spanish court, Gerolamo Di Negro, but they were never delivered to Christopher or his son. Columbus is bitter and disappointed: he writes that ‘those who serve the community serve no one’. He then informs his friend of Queen Isabella's death and the problems her son Diego is encountering in enjoying his rights. With his ties to Genoa now severed, except for personal friendships, Columbus began the last period of his life, enjoying material comforts such as money and servants but suffering personal anguish over his worsening health and the future of his descendants. This period ended with his death at the Spanish court in Valladolid on 20 May 1506. Handwritten letter.

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Titolo dell'opera:

Letter from Christopher Columbus to the Protectors of the Purchases of St. George

Acquisizione:

Famiglia Oderico 1821 Genova - donazione

Autore:

Colombo, Cristoforo

Object Type:

manuscript

Epoca:

1502/03/21 - 1502/03/21 - XVI

Inventario:

4237

Misure:

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 30; Larghezza: 20

Tecnica:

carta- inchiostro

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Letter from Christopher Columbus to the Protectors of the Purchases of St. George

Descrizione:

Columbus expresses nostalgia and declares, ‘although my body is here, my heart is always there,’ and entrusts his son Diego to the Republic. In return, he announces that a tenth of his income will be paid to Genoa as a discount on the tax on grain, wine and foodstuffs. He then announces that he will send his Book of Privileges, so that it may be known and preserved in order to counter the court's attempts to delegitimise him. Handwritten letter.

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Titolo dell'opera:

Letter from Christopher Columbus to Nicolò Oderico

Acquisizione:

Famiglia Oderico 1821 Genova - donazione

Autore:

Colombo, Cristoforo

Object Type:

manuscript

Epoca:

1502/03/21 - 1502/03/21 - XVI

Inventario:

4236

Misure:

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 30; Larghezza: 20

Tecnica:

carta- inchiostro

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Letter from Christopher Columbus to Nicolò Oderico

Descrizione:

In 1502, hostility towards Columbus and his family grew at court. In this psychological climate of loneliness, nostalgia for Genoa grew, but above all, concern for the future of his legitimate son, Don Diego, took precedence: from many signs at court, Christopher had the feeling that upon his death, his son would be stripped of many of the privileges he had accumulated. For this reason, he took precautions, sending two copies of his “Privileges” - the Code of the same name - to Genoa and taking action at the Banco di San Giorgio to seek a protector for his son's interests. Handwritten letter.

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Titolo dell'opera:

Code of Privileges of Christopher Columbus

Acquisizione:

Famiglia Oderico 1821 Genova - donazione

Autore:

Colombo, Cristoforo

Object Type:

manuscript

Epoca:

1502 - 1503 - XVI

Inventario:

4235

Misure:

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 30; Larghezza: 20

Tecnica:

carta- inchiostro

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Code of Privileges of Christopher Columbus

Descrizione:

Announced in a letter to the Protectors, the ‘Code’ arrived in Genoa via Francesco Rivarolo, a shipowner and merchant residing in Seville, who delivered it to Ambassador Oderico with instructions to keep it for the Navigator's children, should they need it for their legal disputes. In 1670, Oderico's heirs donated the code to the Republic.

Written by one or more Spanish copyists, it contains a comprehensive collection of all the notarial deeds and documents proving the discovery and the rights attributed to him by the Spanish. The document was drawn up in four copies: one was entrusted to Father Gorricio, of the convent of Las Cuevas in Seville, perhaps Columbus's best friend; another was sent to the Indies with Columbus's attorney, Carvajal, who needed it to defend the admiral's interests, and two copies were entrusted, at different times, to Nicolò Oderico to keep in Genoa and entrust to the Banco di San Giorgio.

The first two volumes were lost over the centuries: only an extract from the Codex remains in Providence (USA, Rhode Island), probably written later by Columbus' descendants. The two manuscripts sent to Genoa, on the other hand, remained for decades in the Oderico family archives and then passed to the archives of the Republic: here they were removed by French Napoleonic emissaries and only the copy presented here returned to the city, the other remaining in Paris.

The Codex, rich in decorations and small exotic miniatures, was completed on 22 March 1502 and also contains a letter received just a week earlier from Valencia de la Torre. It can be identified by the “red cordovan bag” in which it was originally sent and which still accompanies the document today. Manuscript codex with leather cover.

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Titolo dell'opera:

Madonna Carrega

Acquisizione:

Luigi Frugone 1939 Genova - legato

Autore:

Puget, Pierre

Object Type:

sculpture

Epoca:

1681 - 1681 - XVII

Inventario:

MSA 3670

Misure:

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 143; Larghezza: 74; Profondità: 78.5

Tecnica:

marmo bianco di Carrara scolpito e levigato

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Madonna Carrega

Descrizione:

The statue comes from the Palazzo di Tobia Pallavicino in Via Garibaldi and is one of the masterpieces produced in Genoa by the great sculptor Pierre Puget from Marseilles. Coming from Rome, Puget lived in Genoa one of the most productive seasons of his life, from 1661 to 1668, favouring the introduction of the Baroque in the Ligurian capital. The influence of Michelangelo's Bruges Madonna and also Bernini's production can be seen in the work. This sculpture, known as the “Madonna Carrega”, has a high emotional impact. The child is plump and is caught seeking his mother's attention, while Mary looks into the distance, perhaps foreshadowing her dramatic future.

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Titolo dell'opera:

Frescoed chapel with Virgin Mary, Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, Martyrdom of St. Lawrence and the Four Apostles

Acquisizione:

1936 post Genova - donazione

Autore:

Castello, Valerio

Object Type:

fresco

Epoca:

1650 - 1650 - XVII

Inventario:

MSA 1017

Misure:

Unità di misura: cm; Larghezza: 170; Lunghezza: 367

Tecnica:

affresco

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Frescoed chapel with Virgin Mary, Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, Martyrdom of St. Lawrence and the Four Apostles

Descrizione:

The fresco fragments come from a private chapel in the Sacchi Nemours palace in Piazza San Matteo, from which they were taken in 1936 and donated to the municipality. The assumption of the Virgin and the four Apostles are depicted on the vault of the Chapel. The side lunettes depict the martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist and the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, while the vaults of the arches are frescoed with putti and floral decorations.

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Titolo dell'opera:

The Abduction of Helen

Acquisizione:

eredi del marchese Oberto Gentile Genova - acquisto

Autore:

Puget, Pierre

Object Type:

sculpture

Epoca:

1683 - 1700 - XVII

Inventario:

MSA 3552

Misure:

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 219; Larghezza: 74; Profondità: 90

Tecnica:

marmo bianco apuano scolpito

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The Abduction of Helen

Descrizione:

Pierre Puget, active in Genoa since the 1660s, produced some of his most prestigious works for private individuals and religious institutions. Among them, for the Palazzo di Pantaleo Spinola in Strada Nuova, the Ratto di Elena (c. 1680). Sculptural group in white marble characterised by an animated spiral composition agitated by a typical “baroque wind”. All the characters and elements that characterise the scene move and balance each other: from the animated sea on which the ship floats to the right hand of Helena, which concludes the emotional spiral of the event at the top.

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Titolo dell'opera:

Clipeus with the face of Christ

Autore:

Della Porta, Gian Giacomo

Object Type:

clipeus

Epoca:

1540 - 1540 - XVI

Inventario:

MSA 249

Misure:

Unità di misura: cm; Profondità: 18; Diametro: 71

Tecnica:

marmo bianco

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Clipeus with the face of Christ

Descrizione:

The tondo was executed in 1540 for the St Catherine's Gate on the eastern city wall. It remained in place until 1837, when the gate was demolished. It was later walled in the so-called Arconi dell'Acquasola, from which it was removed on 16 October 1877. It was originally placed above the epigraph (inventory number MSA 248). Marble clipeus with the face of Christ in high relief.

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Titolo dell'opera:

Hanging capital with coats of arms

Ambito culturale:

Scultore lombardo attivo a Genova

Author/ School/ Dating:

Hanging capital with coats of arms

Object Type:

capital

Epoca:

1440 - 1460 - XV

Inventario:

MSA 516

Misure:

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 129; Larghezza: 277; Profondità: 29

Tecnica:

pietra nera di promontorio

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Hanging capital with coats of arms

Descrizione:

It was purchased by the municipality in 1887 at an auction of Santo Varni's collection. Window arch pediment decorated with two chiselled coats of arms. Each coat of arms is surmounted by a helmet with an eagle-shaped crest. The whole space is richly decorated with plant motifs: a bearded male head emerges just above the setting point of the object. The coats of arms are probably identifiable as arms of the Doria family.

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