Savona

Sister cities

• Villingen-Schwenningen
• Bayamo

History

Inhabited in ancient times by Ligures tribes, it came under Roman influence in 180 BC, after the Punic Wars in which the city had been allied to Carthage. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it passed under Lombard rule in 641 AD (being destroyed in the attack), after a short period as an Ostrogoth and then Byzantine possession. Later it recovered as a county seat in the Carolingian Empire. In the 10th century, its bishops were Counts of Savona, but later the countship passed to the Marquesses of Montferrat (981) and afterwards to the Marquesses (1084). After a long struggle against the Saracens, Savona acquired independence in the 11th century, becoming a free commune allied with the Holy Roman Emperor (similar to a free imperial city). Savona was the center of religious culture (13th to 16th centuries) due to the work of two important monasteries: Dominican and Franciscan. Subsequently, it fought against the Republic of Genoa before being definitively conquered in 1528. The Genoese destroyed the upper town and buried the port. It then shared the fortunes of the Republic of Genoa until Napoleonic times. In 1809, the city received Pope Pius VII, prisoner of Napoleon Bonaparte, for a few years. Between April and mid-May 1800, Austrian forces besieged the city while a small British naval force maintained a blockade; the fortress surrendered on 15 May. Subsequently, Savona was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont (1815). Eventually, it became part of the unified Kingdom of Italy, now a republic. During the 20th century, Savona became a regional industrial hub.

Geography

The town is situated west of Genoa and circa (east) of Nice, in France, on the western Italian Riviera, between the Ligurian Sea and the Ligurian Alps. Savona has a Mediterranean climate (Csa). The average yearly temperature is around during the day and at night. In the coldest months: January, February and December, the average temperature is during the day and at night. In the warmest month – July and August – the average temperature is during the day and at night. Generally, a typical summer season lasts about 4 to 6 months, from May/June to September/October. The daily temperature range is limited, with an average range of about 7°C (13°F) between high and low temperatures. Rain occurs mainly in autumn, the summers being generally dry. Sunshine hours total above 2,097 per year, from an average 4 hours of sunshine duration per day in winter to average 9 hours in summer. Savona usually sees snow once or twice per year.