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The
"fifth sea republic" is situated in a bay between Capo Noli and
Punta del Vescovo. Documents dating from the twelfth century show that
after destruction by the Lombards in 641, the town of "Naboli"
was rebuilt close to the sea. The First Crusade (1097) won political and
commercial privileges for Noli from the king of Jerusalem. It was the
feudal estate of the marquises of Del Vasto of Savona until 1197, when it
gained independence. Made rich by commerce, it became a Republic and made
an alliance with Genoa in 1202. In 1239 it became a city and diocese and
this independence lasted until 1797, the year of Napoleon's invasion.
In the mediaeval old town centre there are some very interesting
buildings: Palazzo Viale Salvarezza, Casa Pagliano, the tower of the Canto
and the town hall (among the few survivors of Noli's original seventy-two
towers), parts of the town wall and Monte Ursino castle (twelfth century),
which is traditionally said to have inspired Dante's description of
Purgatory.
The cathedral of San Paragorio, an emblem of Ligurian Romanesque style,
dates from the twelfth century: outside there are mediaeval tombs and
Islamic majolica works. Among the works of major interest in the interior
of the church are a wood copy of the Volto Santo at Lucca, a bishop's
chair (thirteenth century) and fourteenth-century frescoes.
The relics of Sant'Eugenio, the town's patron saint, are kept in the
thirteenth-century cathedral of San Pietro (refurbished in the seventeenth
century) together with the cathedral treasure.
Besides tourism, fishing has remained one of the main activities in Noli,
while the production of wine and oil is on the fall.
The typical local specialities are fish dishes to be accompanied by the
wines of the Noli hillside vineyards: stuffed grilled cuttlefish and
whitebait fritters. From 1576 to 1578, Giordano Bruno taught geometry and
cosmography in Noli, the birthplace of Antoniotto Usodimare (1415-1461),
the navigator who discovered the Cape Verde islands.
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