XVI - 1501 - 1600

3373

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 34; Larghezza: 47

pergamena- inchiostro

Portolano of the Black Sea and Genoese Colonies

From the middle of the 13th century, small communities from all over Liguria settled on the coast of the Black Sea. The overseas Genoese made up more than 80% of the western population of those lands. Cities such as Soldaia, Pera and Caffa, experienced exceptional development, built walls and resisted the assaults of the Greeks and Mongols, although two centuries later they did fall into the power of the Ottomans, who were superior in numbers, ships and firepower. The Genoese coexisted with the Orientals, not integrating, converting or subduing them as was the logic of 19th century colonialism. The Genoese colonies in the Black Sea were the privileged meeting point between the world of the steppe and the forest and the Mediterranean merchant cities, places where the most important local resources - wax, honey, furs, cereals, even slaves - were traded in exchange for cloth, canvas, wine.

1401 - 1500 - XV

MSA 256

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 195; Larghezza: 238; Profondità: 16

marmo scolpito e dipinto

Altar of Santa Maria della Pace. Triptych with Madonna della Cintola and Saints

Framed in an elaborate structure reminiscent of the wooden frames of polyptychs of the time, this composition, in purely Lombard style, is characterised by having almost entirely preserved its original colouring. In particular, note how the central Madonna, dressed in blue, is surrounded by angels dressed in the colours of the theological virtues: red for faith, green for hope, white for charity. The figures are inspired by northern Gothic, while the decoration, with its elegant carved woodwork, shows inspiration from painted polyptychs.

1292 - 1292 - XIII

MSA 3641

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 272; Larghezza: 138

Affresco staccato su resina di vetro

Psychostasis of Archangel Michael

Originally, the fresco - together with its twin depicting the Supper at Simon's House - decorated the apse of the church of San Michele di Fassolo. They remained covered by a subsequent layer of plaster until their rediscovery during the demolition of the church, located around the current railway station in Piazza Principe. The two frescoes were painted in 1292 and signed by Manfredino d'Alberto da Pistoia, who was active in Pistoia and Genoa between 1274 and 1305 (the year in which he signed the frescoes in the Church of Carmine). Manfredino, who may have worked on Cimabue's construction site in Assisi, introduced the Tuscan innovations of the late 13th century to Genoa. This fresco depicts Psychostasia, the weighing of souls, in which the Archangel Michael appears as judge and warrior. He is seen with his wings spread, stretching out his right arm to hold a pole from which a set of scales hangs. One of the scale pans holds a faithful believer in a supplicating posture. To the left of the scene, the wings of the devil can be glimpsed, perhaps depicted as a dragon, according to the iconography of St. Michael the dragon slayer, victor over Evil.

1292 - 1292 - XIII

MSA 3640

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 226; Larghezza: 205

Affresco staccato su resina di vetro

Feast in Bethany

The fresco comes from a side wall of the choir of the Church of San Michele di Fassolo, demolished in 1858; the detachment was executed in 1849 by the painter Tammar Luxoro. Manfredino brought the novelty of painting in the way it was evolving in Assisi, from where the painter probably moved directly to Genoa, living there for at least until 1305. The fresco depicts Jesus at Simon's supper, as he is seated with other guests and an apostle; below, Mary Magdalene washes and anoints Christ's feet. A city with large buildings forms the backdrop to the scene.

5th millennium BCE - 4686 BCE - 4527 BCE

Unità di misura: UNR (; Misure mancanti: MNR

osso

Burial of an elderly person from the Pollera Cave (Finale Ligure, SV)

The burial was of an adult male aged around sixty. The elderly individual shows loss of most of his teeth and signs of alveolar resorption. The subject shows: a left parietal depression with capillary fracture; possible trauma and attempted trepanation; a fractured right clavicle with pseudoarthrosis; osteophytic beaks on the thoracic vertebrae. In addition to the skeleton, only a green stone axe, heavily worn from use, has survived, which was probably a personal tool of the deceased. The axe was a common tool among Neolithic populations and is considered a male symbol because it has only been found in the burials of men in this and other prehistoric cultures. The artefact comes from the Caverna della Pollera in Finale Ligure (SV).

Upper Pleistocene - 100.000 BCE - 10.000 BCE

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 16,5; Larghezza: 25; Lunghezza: 39

ossa

Skull of ‘Ursus Spelaeus, Ros.’ from the Caverna delle Fate (SV)

This skull was found in the Caverna delle Fate (Fairy Cave) in the province of Savona, along with other skeletal remains that document the presence of cave bears in numerous prehistoric caves in Liguria. Larger than today's grizzly bears and mainly herbivorous, they were widespread in Europe during the Upper Pleistocene. It could reach a height of up to 3.5 metres on its hind legs and had long teeth and sharp claws. These animals took refuge in caves during the winter, and some individuals could die or be hunted by Neanderthals: hunting cave bears could provide a large amount of meat, but also fur, tendons and fat. In the Bàsura Cave in Toirano (SV), cave bears lived between 50,000 and 24,000 years ago, and an excavation inside the cave has revealed a layer where traces of fossilised fur have been found. A large specimen, completely reconstructed from the bones of different individuals from the Caverna del Pastore (Toirano, SV), can also be admired at the museum. Skull of "Ursus Spaeleus" (order: carnivores; family: ursidae), somewhat chipped and covered with clay incrustations. It preserves 'in situ' all the teeth except the incisors.

XVII - 1694 - 1694

3475

sgottare l'acqua dai bacini chiusi fissato per mezzo della catena ad una gru a bilanciere girevole detta 'cicogna' quando il bacino è stato delimitato da palificate

Bucket

Iron bucket with pivoted reinforcement and chain. Before the invention of dredgers - vessels used to excavate the seabed of a harbor - operations were carried out manually.

Having delimited the area concerned by means of a wooden piling, “cicogne” were mounted on the edge of it: sort of wooden cranes equipped on one side with a chain holding an iron bucket; on the other by a counterweight.

With the cicogne, the basin was emptied of water, after which workers would remove the bottom from the mud by the use of baskets carried on their shoulders. Women were also engaged in this kind of labor, which was very tiring.

1751 - 1800 - XVIII

3382

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 150; Larghezza: 220; Lunghezza: 38

legno

Genoese galley

The galea was a type of vessel used by European fleets until the early 19th century, although its ‘golden age’ coincided with the 16th-17th centuries. Its strong points - whose conception dates back to the ancient Greco-Roman triremes - did not change over the centuries: the possibility of sailing and rowing, its manoeuvrability, its shallow draught (that is, the submerged part of the hull), and its function as both merchant and military vessel: in fact, it could embark a few dozen ‘naval soldiers’, armed at one time with bows and arrows, then with crossbows, and finally with arquebuses and muskets; artillery pieces could be few and light, a shortcoming that eventually made the galley lose its centuries-old confrontation with the great vessels. The hull is banded in alternating courses to reveal the internal ribs. The galley is rigged but without sails. The oars are of the ‘scaloccio’ type (one for every 4-5 men) and in rowing position. The sternpost, rather than the wheel, indicates a late-period type of galley.

1290 - 1290 - XIII

MSA 18

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 39; Profondità: 12; Lunghezza: 81,5

marmo bianco apuano scolpito e inciso

Commemorative plaque marking the capture of Porto Pisano - section on Vico Dritto Ponticello

Originally this stone, the product of a Genoese sculptor, was placed on the façade of a private house in Vico dritto di Ponticello, which went to Porta di S. Andrea, today Porta Soprana, the main entrance to the city from the east. The stone celebrates the victory of the Genoese who, after defeating the Pisans in the naval battle of Meloria (1284), had inflicted a stringent peace agreement on them, which was largely broken. This led to a naval expedition in 1290, aimed at forcing the rival city to respect the pacts: having broken the chains protecting the port, the Genoese devastated it. The chains of the harbour were displayed as a trophy in Genoa in some of the city's important buildings. Bas-relief commemorating the capture of Porto Pisano in 1290. The work reproduces the main topographical features of Porto Pisano (towers, chains), but also focuses on the representation of some Pisans looking out anxiously from the buildings.

1312 - 1317 - XIV

MSA 3663

Misure mancanti: MNR

marmo bianco apuano scolpito

Eminent person

The sculpture was created by the workshop of the 'Maestro di Giano', a collective name for a community of Lombard sculptors who were particularly active in Genoa until the 1220s: having initially taken charge of the decoration of the parts of the Cathedral of San Lorenzo damaged in the fire of 1296, they assumed a predominant role in the city. Marble statue of a bearded man standing with his right arm raised to hold a sphere. The man is dressed in a tunic, cloak, shoes and cap; in his left hand he holds part of his robe.