Noli historical timeline

History

It is old, and the foundation story is not settled. Noli was an ancient centre of the Ligures and a municipium in Roman times. Some sources make it a colony of the Ligurian Genuati and Sabazi in 317 BC; others hold it older than Rome. What is established is that Intemelii, Ingauni and Sabazi were settled here in Roman times and that the Ligurians defended the position.

The name appears just after the millennium. It is cited in documents of 1004 and 1005 as Naboli, probably from Neapolis, the Greek-Latin for "new city".

The town moved twice before settling. It was founded three times: first on the summit of Monte Ursino, where the castle stands; second beside the church of San Paragorio; third inside the present wall circuit.

On 7 August 1192 it became a state. The Republic of Noli was constituted by decree of Henry VI of Swabia, separating from the Del Carretto marquisate of Finale. It was a protectorate and ally of the Republic of Genoa, an oligarchic republic headed by a Podestà, with a Consiglio dei Consoli e dei Capi di casa, and it obtained religious autonomy in the form of its own diocese. Borghi più belli d'Italia dates the alliance with Genoa that made it a maritime republic to 1202.

It fortified itself in the thirteenth century. Noli added further defences and more than seventy town towers, closing the borgo in a wall. Its alignment with the Lombard League against Frederick II earned recognition from Pope Gregory IX.

Its trade was long-range and its output was odd for its size. The republic traded with the Byzantine Empire, France, Spain and England, exported spices, salt and glass, and produced glass and warships — on a territory that at its greatest reached 4 square kilometres, with some 1,500 inhabitants in the eighteenth century. Its possessions included Spotorno, often contested with Savona, along with Orco Feglino, Mallare, Vado and the island of Bergeggi.

In 1643 Genoa put down a plot to hand Noli to Savoy. The doge Giovanni Battista Lercari sent the senator Antonio Viale to end a conspiracy among some inhabitants that would have delivered the town to the Duke of Savoy; the palazzo Viale built around the twelfth-century torre della Marina is his.

On 2 December 1797 the republic ended. Napoleon's Italian campaign closed it after 605 years. Under the French, Noli headed the VII Canton of the Giurisdizione delle Arene Candide, then from 1803 the V Canton; it was annexed to the First French Empire from 13 June 1805 to 1814, in the Département de Montenotte.

And on 1 August 1808, at four in the afternoon, it was shelled. Treated as a strongpoint of the French Ligurian republic, Noli was heavily bombarded by the English fleet. Until recent restorations the facade of Palazzo Viale-Salvarezza still had, lodged in it, a cannonball fired by the brig Wizard.

Verified against Wikipedia, October 2026.

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Checked against Wikipedia — Noli was an ancient centre of the Ligures and a municipium in Roman times; its name is cited in documents of 1004 and 1005 as Naboli, deriving probably from Neapolis, the Greek-Latin for "new city". Some sources would have it arise as a colony of the Ligurian peoples of the Genuati and Sabazi in 317 BC, others hold it much older than Rome; it is however proved that settlements of Intemelii, Ingauni and Sabazi were present in Roman times and that the area was well defended by the ancient Ligurians thanks to its strategic position. The city was founded three times: the first on the summit of Monte Ursino, on which the castle of that name stands; the second in the area adjacent to the church of San Paragorio; the third within the present wall circuit., The Republic of Noli was constituted on 7 August 1192 by decree of Henry VI of Swabia and ended on 2 December 1797 with the Italian campaign of Napoleon Bonaparte. It was a maritime republic under protectorate and an oligarchic republic, a protectorate and ally of the Republic of Genoa, having separated from the Del Carretto marquisate of Finale; its head of state was a Podesta and its deliberative organs the Consiglio dei Consoli e dei Capi di casa, and it achieved religious autonomy by obtaining a diocese of its own. Its maximum area was 4 square kilometres, with a population of 1,500 in the eighteenth century; its currency was Genoese, its resources commerce, fishing and olive growing, its productions glass and warships, and it traded with the Byzantine Empire, France, Spain and England, exporting spices, salt and glass. Its territory covered the comune of Noli and nearby possessions including Spotorno, often contested with Savona, Orco Feglino, Mallare, Vado and the island of Bergeggi., In the course of the thirteenth century Noli equipped itself with further fortifications and with more than seventy town towers, closing the borgo within a wall circuit; its political and military alignment with the cause of the Lombard League against Frederick II of Swabia favoured recognition by pope Gregory IX., Palazzo Viale-Salvarezza at Noli is a seventeenth-century building fused among pre-existing medieval buildings and erected around the torre della Marina, of the twelfth century, and another smaller one. The palace was commissioned by Antonio Viale, senator of the Republic of Genoa, sent to the Nolese republic by doge Giovanni Battista Lercari in 1643 to put an end to a conspiracy of some inhabitants that would have delivered Noli into the hands of the duke of Savoy. Until the recent restorations the facade still conserved, embedded in it, a cannonball fired by the brig Wizard of the English fleet during the naval bombardment of 1808., Under the new French arrangements Noli formed part of the VII Canton, as capoluogo, of the Giurisdizione delle Arene Candide, and from 1803 was the principal centre of the V Canton of the Arene Candide in the Giurisdizione di Colombo; annexed to the First French Empire from 13 June 1805 to 1814 it was placed in the Departement of Montenotte. In 1808, by then considered a strongpoint of the French Ligurian republic, it was heavily bombarded at four in the afternoon of 1 August by the fleet. (October 2026).
Checked against I borghi più belli d'Italia — I borghi piu belli d'Italia gives Noli 2,950 inhabitants with 300 in the borgo itself and an altitude of 2 m above sea level; it records sant'Eugenio as the patron bishop coming from Africa, buried on the islet of Bergeggi in 505 and then translated to Noli in 1192, celebrated on the second Sunday of July; it dates the establishment of the free comune to 1192, marked by a traditional ceremony at the church of San Paragorio on 7 August, and says that by 1202 Noli had become a maritime republic through alliance with Genoa. It names among the medieval towers the thirteenth-century Torre del Comune and Torre della Marina, noting their bold profile and the reddish tone of the brick, calls San Paragorio one of the most important monuments of the region, and gives the tourist office as Via Anton da Noli, telephone 019 748384. (October 2026).