The key moment in history was during the 1500's when there was a boom in England for 'fustagno genovese' dyed blue. The English were both important trading partners and allies of the Republic of Genoa. Queen Elisabeth's fleet even sailed under the red cross of the city to display allegiance. The flag becoming adopted by her majesty.

With no pun intended they were the first to cotton on to a commercial opportunity and made a fortune. The English ships ferried crates of the fabric out of the ancient port of Superba and across the Mediterranean.

More than interestingly, to identify the load each crate of material was labelled 'Bleu de Genes'. And so blue jeans were born.

Blue Jeans continued to be exported before eventually catching the attention of Mr Straus and his tailor Jacob Davis in 1873. The rest is modern American history: cowboys, James Dean, Elvis, Hippies etc Now people buy them with designer wrips and tears.

To celebrate Liguria's second most famous export, after pesto, 2009 saw a huge 18 meter long pair of jeans hung from the old port.