Génova is a municipality in the southern part of the department of Quindío

Quindío Department

Quindío is a department of Colombia. It is in the western central region of the country, crossed by the Andes mountains. Its capital is Armenia. It is famous for the quality of the coffee plantations, colorful architecture, benign weather, variety of hotel accommodations and touristic landmarks...

, Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

. It is located 52 km south of the departmental capital Armenia

Armenia, Colombia

Armenia is the capital of Quindío, a department in Colombia. The city is located at coordinates 4.5170° north, 75.6830° west, 290 kilometers west of Bogotá. Armenia is a mid-size city located between Bogotá, Medellín and Cali, the 3 largest Colombian cities. The city's area code for phone calls is...

In 2005 Génova had an estimated population of 12,600, of which 7,100 live in the main urban zone.

History

Génova was founded by Segundo Henao Patiño, who had founded Calarcá

Calarcá, Quindío

Calarcá is a municipality in the eastern part of the department of Quindío, Colombia. It is located 4 km east of the departmental capital Armenia...

in 1886. During the Thousand Day War, Henao was told by mule drivers arriving from Antioquia and Tolima that the government war ministry was executing liberal guerrillas, with or without trial. In order to hide from these potential reprisals, he organized a group of liberals from Calarcá to explore the mountains to the south.

The expedition, headed by Henao, included the families Patiño, Ossa, Ospina, Restrepo, Aria, Herrera, Aguilar, Cardona, González, Orozco and Giraldo. The group planted out land along the Gris and Azul rivers. There were already several settlers living in the region, near the Gris River.

Henao was well-known throughout the region for his role in the foundation of Calarcá, and all of the settlers enthusiastically supported him when he announced his intention to form a new town. He was placed in charge of choosing a site and designing the street plans. Henao chose a site near the joining of the Gris and San Juan rivers, on the land of Luis Ossa.

The official foundation took place on October 12, 1903. Génova became a corregimiento of Calarcá in 1906, and was later included in the municipality of Pijao when this was created in 1927. In 1937 it became a separate municipality, with Fución Londoño the first mayor.