‘To mark the forthcoming 1992 celebrations of the 5th centenary of the disco-very of America, the Meeting has organised an exhibition on the four maritime republics of Arnalfi, Pisa, Genoa and Venice. It was in these four cities that aver the centuries that enterprising culture grew up which led in the course al the 15th and 16th centuries to such great geographical discoveries. This exhi-bition reconstructs the system of life that permitted the formation of a particular avant-garde culture which, though having specific characteristics in each of the four cities, remained substantially unique in virtue of the historical circumstances that forced them to constantly interact with one another and united them in a common destiny. To speak of the history of the maritime republics means to speak of the history of the entire Mediterranean and of the funda-mental role it played in European history, a role which continued until the days of the great discoveries. The exhibition is composed of five sections: one gene-ral which includes a chronological, synoptic table of the events involving the four cities. The other sections are given over each to one city, of which an am-ple description is given of the art, culture and history. There are also artistic supports (forty pieces) from the Navy Museum, from the Military Hydrographic Institute of Genoa and from the civic museums of the cities.’