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Cittadini of Venice
Shaping Identities between Networks and Patronage (c. 1530-1690)
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In this volume Giulia Zanon sheds new light on our grasp of social hierarchy and the possibilities for social mobility in pre-modern Italy. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach that combines deep archival research with a multitude of artistic and architectural artefacts, this work breaks new ground by contextualizing the part played by social relationships and the arts in publicly affirming and displaying the prestige of the middling sorts, the
cittadini, in early modern Venice.
Giulia Zanon, Ph.D. (Leeds, 2020), is Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. She is a social and cultural historian whose research uses interdisciplinary methodologies to examine early modern Mediterranean society.
“...The book’s greatest strength, and what sets it apart from similar works, is the breadth of sources deployed to investigate
cittadini networks and patronage. [...] Zanon presents a compelling case for the importance of studying
cittadini social and patronage networks within the structure of early modern Venetian society. The book skilfully outlines how the «middle stratum of society» used artistic patronage to «legitimise its existence in the eyes of the patriciate and to distinguish and further elevate itself from the lower strata» (p. 6). As such, this book will be an invaluable resource for historians and students studying the
cittadini of Venice and the social networks of the
scuole grandi in particular.”
Zoe Farrell, University of Oxford, in: ARO, VIII, 2025, 1, URL: https://aro-isig.fbk.eu/issues/2025/1/cittadini-of-venice-zoe-farrell/
Zoe Farrell, University of Oxford, in: ARO, VIII, 2025, 1, URL: https://aro-isig.fbk.eu/issues/2025/1/cittadini-of-venice-zoe-farrell/
Contents
List of Figures
Abbreviations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Research Context
Sources and Methodology
Structure
1 Membership and Administration of the scuole grandi
1 The Civic Role of the scuole grandi
2 The scuole grandi as ‘Little Republics’ for the cittadini
3 Precious Memories: Structure and Materiality of the Libri d’Argento
4 Social Ties, Admission and Membership in the Confraternities
5 Corruption and Regulation of scuole Governance
6 Conclusion
2 Cittadini Patronage in the scuole grandi
1 The Relationship between scuole and the Civic Unity of the cittadini
2 Processions and Rituals
3 Patronage of Books
4 Cittadini Artistic Patronage in Relation to the scuole
5 Scuole Medals
6 Conclusion
3 Cittadini Cultural Networks
1 Lawyers of Venice: an Honourable Profession
2 The Early Creation of Cultural Networks: the Education of cittadini
3 The Intellectual Circle: Academies, ridotti and Friendships
4 Patrons and Friends of Writers
5 The Arts as a Cultural Gathering
6 Conclusion
4 Cittadini, Parishes and the Counter-Reformation
1 New Opportunities for Patronage: Church Reconstruction
2 Cittadini and Chapels within Parish Churches
3 Clergy, Laity and the Promotion of New Cults of Saints
4 Speaking Tombs: Burial Sites and Social Relationships
5 Conclusion
Conclusion
Bibliography
Archives
Primary Sources: Manuscripts
Primary Sources: Printed Texts
Secondary Sources
Index
List of Figures
Abbreviations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Research Context
Sources and Methodology
Structure
1 Membership and Administration of the scuole grandi
1 The Civic Role of the scuole grandi
2 The scuole grandi as ‘Little Republics’ for the cittadini
3 Precious Memories: Structure and Materiality of the Libri d’Argento
4 Social Ties, Admission and Membership in the Confraternities
5 Corruption and Regulation of scuole Governance
6 Conclusion
2 Cittadini Patronage in the scuole grandi
1 The Relationship between scuole and the Civic Unity of the cittadini
2 Processions and Rituals
3 Patronage of Books
4 Cittadini Artistic Patronage in Relation to the scuole
5 Scuole Medals
6 Conclusion
3 Cittadini Cultural Networks
1 Lawyers of Venice: an Honourable Profession
2 The Early Creation of Cultural Networks: the Education of cittadini
3 The Intellectual Circle: Academies, ridotti and Friendships
4 Patrons and Friends of Writers
5 The Arts as a Cultural Gathering
6 Conclusion
4 Cittadini, Parishes and the Counter-Reformation
1 New Opportunities for Patronage: Church Reconstruction
2 Cittadini and Chapels within Parish Churches
3 Clergy, Laity and the Promotion of New Cults of Saints
4 Speaking Tombs: Burial Sites and Social Relationships
5 Conclusion
Conclusion
Bibliography
Archives
Primary Sources: Manuscripts
Primary Sources: Printed Texts
Secondary Sources
Index
The primary readership of the book will be academic (students, libraries and research institutes) interested in Renaissance history, history of art and the history of Venice, and early modern Italy/Europe.