On March 2 1408, eight men gathered in the great hall of the Casa di San Giorgio, a trading house on what was then the main street in Genoa, a few metres from where the waters of the Ligurian Sea lap the Italian shore. They were merchants, rich and powerful representatives of the city's most influential families, and they were meeting to discuss a matter of the utmost gravity. The once-glorious republic of Genoa had fallen on hard times. After years of war with Venice and a crushing defeat at the battle of Chioggia in 1381, the state was effectively bankrupt. The task was to rescue it.
1408年3月2日，八名男子个人聚集在热那亚主要街道上的交易所——圣乔治大楼(Casa di San Giorgio)的大厅内，离交易所数米处就是利古里亚海，可以听到海水拍打意大利海岸的声响。八人都是商人，金钱和权势让他们成为城市最具影响力家族的代表。他们会聚于此，讨论一个极其严肃的问题。时世艰难，一度辉煌的热那亚共和国已经衰落。热那亚与威尼斯共和国交战多年，并于1381年在基奥贾战役中遭受毁灭性打击，热那亚实际上已经破产。八人的任务就是拯救它。