Republic of Genoa / Repubblica di Genova #1 (Claymore Castings OT43 Pavasiers 1 #1)

on March 02, 2020

Good morning!

Today, the first two Pavasiers from Claymore Castings. I will tell you my dear, that I fell in love with these models. They have an unbelievable amount of very nice and sharp details that add a lot of charm to the models.

In the Middle Ages, the Pavasiers were infantry soldiers equipped with Pavasie (large quadrangular shields).
This type of shield was quite high (even up to the height of the shoulders of an adult male), with a vertical convexity in the middle.
The transom was heavy, made of wood upholstered with sheet metal or leather, decorated with paintings.
From the inside, it usually had straps similar to a harness, and in the middle a handle - large enough to hold with both hands. Often the bottom edge of the shield was fitted with a spur or spurs, enabling the shield to be immobilized by driving it into the ground; A wooden support was also sometimes used to provide additional grounding.
Sometimes it also had a notch (viewfinder) in the upper part, facilitating the use of a crossbow or firearm. In the variation used for the formation of the ride, in turn, had a notch to facilitate the use of copies.

The name of the shield comes from the Italian city of Pavia, where it appeared brought by mercenary knights fighting in the ranks of the Teutonic Order.

Repubblica di Genova. History. Part I
The Republic of Genoa was a former independent state in Liguria, on the coast of northwestern Italy. It existed from the eleventh century to 1797.
In my entries I will focus on the period of the Middle Ages and late Middle Ages that interest me much.

The Republic of Genoa was founded in the Middle Ages (11th century).
In the years 1421–1435 the Republic fell in dependence on Milan, then (1458–1461) from France, again from Milan (1464–1477 and 1488–1499), and again from France (1507–1522 and 1527–1528).

College ruled by consuls and the Senate. From 1339 Genoa was led by Doges (similar to the Doges of Venice). Genoa was an important Mediterranean port.
It flourished during the Crusades in the 11th-13th century. At the time, it received numerous outposts of trade with the East (some districts in Jerusalem, Antioch, Jaffa and other cities) for the help given to the French crusaders.

The alliance with the Byzantine Empire, with the worsening of relations between Venice and Constantinople, provided Genoese the opportunity to extend colonial expansion to the Black Sea and Crimea.

From the Black Sea, Genoese merchants traveled along the Danube and the Dnieper Eastern European hinterland, also venturing to the Caucasus, to India, and possibly even to China.

Around the year 1000, Pisa became the most dangerous competitor of Genoa. The two-hundred-year rivalry, which was based on the benefits of trade and the fight for political subordination of Sardinia, was won by Genoa.

In a great battle at sea on August 6, 1284 near Livorno, considered the largest armed naval combat of the Middle Ages, the Genoese fleet defeated the Pisa fleet (Battaglia della Meloria).

For Pisa, this was the end of political ambitions, for Genoa, ascending the summit of greatness (13th and 14th centuries). After Pisa's earlier (1135-37) elimination from the game of the Amalfi republic in southern Italy, now only two strong Italian maritime republics remain, i.e. Genoa and Venice.
They fought for the monopolization of trade with the countries of the Orient, and thus for political supremacy in the Mediterranean basin.

The natural conflict between them found an outlet in four devastating wars waged in 1256-1381 with the participation of various states with both allied sides...