Rapallo: history & notable people

History

Of ancient origins the town became Genoa’s protectorate during 10th and 11th centuries and with the Republic it took part to the sea battles against Pisa, Venice and France. In 1550, after a tragic sack by the pirate Dragut, the citizens built the Castle to defend the town.
In the second half of 19th century Rapallo became a tourist resort, with the construction of the first international hotels, such as the Grand Hotel et d’Europe.
Rapallo is historically famous for the international Treaties that took place here in 1920, between Italy and Jugoslavia, and in 1922 between Germany and Russia.

Notable People

The Italian patriot Giuseppe Mazzini took shelter in Rapallo in 1870 to get away from the House of Savoy persecution.
Since the end of 19th century many notable people lived or visited Rapallo; the most important are the musicians Franz Liszt, Jean Sibelius, that here worked at his Simphony Nr. 2 in D major, Cosima Wagner and Arturo Toscanini; the scientists Marie Curie, Sigmund Freud and Guglielmo Marconi; the painters Vasilij Kandinsky and Oscar Kokoschka; the writers Friedrich Nietzsche, William Butler Yeats, Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, and the poetess Gabriela Mistral.

hotel

• Excelsior Palace Hotel DeLuxe
• Grand Hotel Bristol Resort & SPA
• Hotel Miramare
• Hotel Italia e Lido
• Hotel Mondial

Tourist Services

• Circolo Golf & Tennis
• TV System
• Gruppo albergatori Rapallo/Zoagli