Die Verschwörung zu Genua (1921)

Genoa, during the late Renaissance, in 1547. Fiesco, Count of Lavagna, plans to overthrow Andrea Doria, the old Doge of Genoa, who behaves and rules like an all-powerful autocrat. No palace intrigue is too underhanded for him, and he will stop at nothing. Even the Doge’s seductive niece, Countess Julia Imperiali, is assigned a role in his villainous scheme. Fiesco’s most loyal ally is Verrino, who hopes the planned coup will establish the republic and put an end to tyrannical rule. At last, a general uprising breaks out. An agitated crowd of Genoese citizens storms up the gleaming white steps to the magnificent gate of the Doge’s palace. A cry rings out, and the mob can no longer be held back: with revolutionary roars, it charges the fortress, now defended only by a loyal Swiss Guard. The Doge has disappeared; in his place appears his nephew, the hated Gianettino Doria, who is both heir and crown prince. A wall of protest surges toward him from the winding streets, as crowds pour in from every direction. The ruler is accused of breaking the constitution, and people fear that the old man will soon be succeeded by his nephew, who is feared as an unscrupulous and even worse tyrant, with a claim to the Doge’s office. Protected by the bayonets of his bodyguards, Gianettino descends the steps. A venerable figure, Verrino, revered by the people, emerges from the crowd and bravely confronts the would-be Doge. Thousands of hands reach up toward Genoa’s blue sky, giving the republican challenger moral support. What Verrino does not realize, however, is that Fiesco has long been playing his own game. He has no intention whatsoever of returning power to the people and ending tyranny. Instead, he means to replace one tyrant with another—himself—and become Genoa’s new sole ruler. When Verrino learns of Fiesco’s sinister machinations, he hurls the traitor to his and the people’s ideals into the sea and to his death. The old, deposed Doge is restored to office, to the cheers of a people quick to forget.