During Boccanegra's dogate, Genoese control was extended the length of both the French and Italian Rivieras, with the exception of the Grimaldi holdings in Monaco and Ventimiglia.

[1] Simone's brother, Egidio, was a grand admiral in the service of Alfonso XI of Castile, and inflicted a memorable defeat on a Moroccan fleet off Algeciras in 1344.

For Boccanegra's security, these were drawn from Pisa, the inveterate enemy of Genoa, where, however, Simone's brother Niccolò was "Capitano del popolo", their mother having been a Pisan aristocrat.

[1] The humanist poet Petrarch wrote letters to the people of Genoa and to the doge of Venice appealing to them to end their fratricidal wars and find a common aim.

[3] Simone Boccanegra's tomb in the no longer extant church of San Francesco in Castelletto was decorated with a remarkable funeral sculpture, depicting him as if lying in state with extraordinary realism in his features.