Introduction
Genoa
[key], Ital. Genova, city, capital of Genoa prov. and of
Liguria, NW Italy, on the Ligurian Sea. Beautifully situated on the Italian
Riviera, it is the
chief seaport of Italy and rivals Marseilles, France, as the leading
Mediterranean port. It is an outlet for the Po Valley and for central Europe
and handles extensive passenger and freight traffic. Genoa's harbor
facilities, badly damaged in World War II and by storms in 1954–55,
have been rebuilt and greatly modernized. The city is also a commercial and
industrial center. Such manufactures as iron and steel, chemicals,
petroleum, airplanes, ships, locomotives, motor vehicles, and textiles long
led the economy, but the service sector is increasingly important while
industry has slowly and steadily declined.
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