Short answers, pulled from the story.
Savona fell under Roman influence in 180 BC after allying with Carthage against Rome during the Punic Wars. The city survived the collapse of the Western Roman Empire until Lombard forces destroyed it in 641 AD.
The Republic of Genoa definitively conquered Savona in 1528 and destroyed its upper town. They buried the port to cripple local trade capabilities permanently.
Christopher Columbus lived in Savona for much of his youth before setting sail westward. His father Domenico Colombo owned property here for many years and a cottage known as 'Columbus's house' remains between vegetable crops and fruit trees today.
Pope Pius VII was imprisoned within the city walls of Savona as a prisoner of war in 1809. Austrian forces besieged the area between April and mid-May 1800 while British naval forces maintained a blockade before the fortress surrendered on the 15th of May.
The Patron saint festival of Nostra Signora della Misericordia occurs annually on the 18th of March in Savona. A spectacular procession takes place every two years during Holy Friday through the streets.