Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Republic of Genoa existed from 1099 to 1797, spanning nearly seven centuries on the northwestern Italian coast in Liguria. It ended when Napoleon's representatives proclaimed the Ligurian Republic on the 14th of June 1797.
Genoa was known by four nicknames: la Superba (the Superb One), la Dominante (the Dominant One), la Dominante dei mari (the Dominant of the Seas), and la Repubblica dei magnifici (the Republic of the Magnificents). The poet Petrarch coined the name la Superba in reference to the city's glory and impressive landmarks.
The Battle of Meloria, fought on the 5th of August 1284, was a decisive naval victory in which the Genoese fleet of 93 ships, led by Oberto Doria and Benedetto I Zaccaria, defeated the Pisan fleet of 72 ships. About 8,000 Pisans were killed and 30 Pisan ships were captured, effectively ending Pisa as a maritime competitor and securing Genoese control of Corsican commerce.
After the state bankruptcy of Philip II of Spain in 1557 collapsed the German banking houses and ended the Fuggers' role as Spanish financiers, Genoese bankers stepped in to provide the Habsburg system with fluid credit and a regular income. In return, silver shipments from the Americas were rapidly transferred from Seville to Genoa to fund further ventures. Historian Fernand Braudel called the period 1557 to 1627 the age of the Genoese.
Genoa's colonial network included Corsica from 1284 to 1768, the Crimean colony of Caffa and surrounding settlements from 1266 to 1475, the islands of Chios and Lesbos from the 14th century until 1462 and 1566 respectively, the island fortress of Tabarka from 1540 to 1742, and the port of Panama from about 1520 until its destruction in 1671. Monaco was sold to the Grimaldi family in the 15th century.
Genoa passed through five constitutional stages: consuls elected by popular assembly until 1191, a podesta system until 1256, a capitano del popolo until 1339, a doge elected for life until 1528, and finally a doge elected for two-year terms until 1797. In practice the republic was an oligarchy dominated by a small circle of merchant families, from which all doges were drawn.