Spinola

The Spinola were one of Genoa's greatest noble houses, with wealth from trade, finance and land. First recorded with Guido Spinola, Genoese consul in 1102, the family peaked in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries beside their allies and rivals the Doria.

In 1262 Oberto Spinola and Oberto Doria overthrew the captain of the people Guglielmo Boccanegra and took joint power; Oberto Spinola defeated Venice at sea in 1266 and helped exile the Fieschi and Grimaldi in 1270. His son Corrado commanded fleets against Pisa and was captain of the people until 1301; Galeotto Spinola held the office in 1335 and helped throw off Robert of Naples' overlordship.

The family remained central to Genoese politics for centuries, producing eleven doges, while Francesco Spinola led the 1435 revolt that ended Visconti rule over the city. Its most celebrated later member, Ambrogio Spinola, was a Genoese banker who became Captain-General of the Spanish Army of Flanders and took Breda in 1625, one of the most famous sieges of the Eighty Years' War.