Anita Ruso

As a crossroad of civilizations, the Republic of Ragusa (today Dubrovnik) was attracted by the civilization of the nearby Peninsula more than with any other. Dubrovnik had managed to establish lively commercial contacts with a number of Italian cities.

It was in 1531 when the first Ragusan consul settled in Genoa. Over 268 years (except for the years after the great earthquake, from 1667 until 1675) Ragusans had 21 consuls in Genoa. They were mostly strangers; many of them were Genoese merchants and rich family’s members.

The research examines the surviving architecture of the national Ragusan chapel dedicated to The Virgin Mary and Saint Blaise and its artworks commissioned by Ragusan merchants in the Ligurian port and entertained by Ragusan consuls. Finally, it examines the Ragusan community in Genoa.