Savona | ||
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Comune | ||
Comune di Savona | ||
Panorama of Savona
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Location of Savona in Italy | ||
Coordinates: 44°18′N 8°29′E / 44.300°N 8.483°E | ||
Country | Italy | |
Region | Liguria | |
Province / Metropolitan city | Savona (SV) | |
Frazioni | Bosco delle Ninfe, Ciantagalletto, Ciatti, Cimavalle, ConcaVerde, Galleria Ranco, Madonna del Monte, Maschio, Montemoro, Naso di Gatto, San Bartolomeo al Bosco, San Bernardo in Valle, Santuario | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Ilaria Caprioglio | |
Area | ||
• Total | 65.55 km2 (25.31 sq mi) | |
Elevation | 4 m (13 ft) | |
Population (1 January 2016) | ||
• Total | 61,345 | |
• Density | 940/km2 (2,400/sq mi) | |
Demonym(s) | Savonesi | |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
Postal code | 17100 | |
Dialing code | 019 | |
Patron saint | Our Lady of Mercy | |
Saint day | 18 March | |
Website | Official website |
Savona [saˈvoːna] listen (Ligurian: Sann-a [ˈsaŋːa] French: Savone) is a seaport and comune in the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea.
Savona used to be one of the chief seats of the Italian iron industry, having iron-works and foundries, shipbuilding, railway workshops, engineering shops, and a brass foundry.
One of the most celebrated former inhabitants of Savona was the navigator Christopher Columbus, who farmed land in the area while chronicling his journeys. 'Columbus's house', a cottage situated in the Savona hills, lay between vegetable crops and fruit trees. It is one of several residences in Liguria associated with Columbus.
Inhabited in ancient times by Ligures tribes, it came under Roman influence in c. 180 BC, after the Punic wars in which the city had been allied to Carthage. At 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 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 Monferrato (981) and afterwards to the marquesses Del Vasto (1084).