Italy
Genoa in the 15th Century
Genoa in the fifteenth century wasn't quite in decline, but it was certainly on the defensive. It no longer aggressively sought expansion in the eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea, but instead concentrated on the western Mediterranean (or, rather, it had to yield ground to the Turks). And it had to deal repeatedly with powerful neighbors.
1421 Genoa is occupied by Filippo Maria Visconti. 1458 Genoa invites in Charles VII of France as her protector and he installs a lieutenant in the city. Milan recovered Genoa in 1461 but lost it again in 1478.
In 1435 Genoa won a major naval battle off Ponza, defeating an Aragonese fleet that ended the threat of conquest by Naples.
The major holdings in the east were Pera (also known as Galata), which was a suburb of Constantinople, across the Golden Horn. Genoa acquired Chios in 1346 and Lesbos in 1355; Chios, in particular, was an important anchor for Genoese trade. Genoa was a major power in the Black Sea, with colonies in Trebizond and at Kaffa in the Crimea. It also held a preponderant position in Famagusta, on Cyprus.
Two events were key turning points in Genovese history during these centuries: the Battle of Chioggia in 1381, and the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Both were more symbolic than immediately catastrophic. In the first case, the Battle of Chioggia, which Genoa lost, gave permanent advantage to Venice in the long-running rivalry between the two cities. In the second case, the Turkish conquest of Constantinople meant that control of the East was no longer in Christian hands, with profound implications for Genovese trade.
If our perspective takes in only the great political events of Genoa, the picture is one of general decline. This would be misleading, though. In the first place, there were important political victories during these years, not the least of which was simple survival in the face of immensely strong external powers such as Naples and France. Politics, though, covers only one portion of the life of a state. The economic perspective for Genoa is much brighter and would be one that perhaps the city's own merchant-princes would have wanted put first.
Trade was always paramount in Genoa. The city had even less manufacturing activity than Venice, and the steep mountains precluded any agricultural development. The Genovese were also innovators in the area of finance: the Bank of St George was one of the first banks chartered in Europe (that is, chartered by a state institution, as distinct from a family-run bank), having been incorporated in 1407. By the middle of the century it was actually administering the territories of Corsica and Sardinia. The Bank became immensely powerful, lending money to the great monarchs of Europe. Even as Genoa was suffering reversals in the East and turmoil at home, the Bank continued to grow more or less without interruption.
So it was with the great families of Genoa, like the Negroni or the Doria. You would think with all the factionalism and internal strife there would be a spectacular rise and fall of families as there had been in other Italian cities. Yet the records show this wasn't really the case. There were few exiles from Genoa, no execution of doges. The in-fighting could be vicious, and it could disrupt the political life of the city, but it rarely destroyed families. The families continued to prosper as Genovese trade prospered—which naturally underwrote their ability to carry on their feuds!
Nor did external control seem to affect the economic life of the city. What Genoa's peculiar political life did affect, seemingly, as its cultural life. The city produced very few writers or artists of note. It's always difficult to discern why one city becomes a home to the arts or learning while another doesn't. Perhaps the emphasis on mercantile activity was as important a factor as political turmoil. Whatever the reasons, there is no doubt that Genoa produced more sea captains and greatmerchants and bankers than it did poets or philosophers.