venice’s maritime empire in the early modern period 155
to prepare themselves for their service abroad. Returning governors also
presented proposals regarding the territories in which they had served.90
Moreover, like any magistrate in the Venetian state who managed
public money, the ex-governor also had to present a copy of the account
books of his governorship to officials entrusted with the control of public
finance. In 1433, this charge was transferred from ufficiali alle rason vecchie
to the governatori alle entrate. A new office of general financial control,
the revisori alla scrittura (later called revisori e regolatori alla scrittura),
was established in 1575, to which patricians who had served in the mari-
time empire had to present their account books within one month after
their return to Venice.91 Without a written attestation (bollettino) by the
revisori, patricians could not be elected to other offices, a prohibition later
changed to the inability to receive the commission for their new post.92
During the 18th century, all the treasuries (casse) throughout the Venetian
dominions were required to send to the deputati e aggiunti alla provvision
del denaro pubblico (an office established in the 1650s) monthly reports
(ristretti) on their revenues and expenditures, and also four-month finan-
cial reports (rendiconti) to the revisori e regolatori.93 However, it appears
that despite its rich experience in colonial administration and the great
efforts invested in controlling the financial bureaucracy, the Republic had
great difficulty in controlling this important component of colonial rule
and, consequently, in preventing disorder and corruption in the adminis-
tration of its colonies.94
90 O’Connell, Men of Empire, p. 89 n. 98. See also Pederin, “Die venezianische
Verwaltung... und ihre Organe,” pp. 152–59.
91 Maria Francesca Tiepolo, “Archivio di Stato di Venezia,” in Guida generale degli
Archivi di Stato italiani, 4 vols (Rome, 1981–94), 4:944, 948; Zannini, Il sistema di revisione,
pp. 18–23; Zannini, “Problemi di contabilità pubblica e di amministrazione finanziaria
nel governo veneziano della Morea e delle Isole Ionie,” in Massimo Costantini and Aliki
Nikiforou, eds., Levante veneziano. Aspetti della storia delle Isole Ionie al tempo della
Serenissima (Rome, 1996), pp. 86–96.
92 Andrea Zannini, “Il Ministro ‘assoluto dispositore.’ Mediazione burocratica e
corruzione nelle Camere fiscali ionie,” in Massimo Costantini, ed., Il Mediterraneo centro-
orientale tra vecchie e nuove egemonie (Rome, 1998), p. 121.
93 Fabio Besta, “Appunti sulla compilazione dei bilanci generali di fatto,” in Fabio Besta,
ed., Bilanci generali della Repubblica di Venezia, 4 vols (Venice, 1912–72), 3:xxiv–xxv, xxix–
xlviii, lxxx–xciv; Angelo Ventura, “Il problema storico dei Bilanci Generali della Repubblica
Veneta,” in Angelo Ventura, ed., Bilanci generali, vol. 4: Bilanci dal 1756 al 1783 (Padua, 1972),
pp. xviii–xix, cxxx. For earlier attempts in this regard, see Besta, “Appunti,” pp. ix–xxiv.
94 Zannini, “Problemi di contabilità,” pp. 90–93; Zannini, “Il Ministro ‘assoluto
dispositore,’ ” pp. 89–92; Zannini, Il sistema di revisione, pp. 152–53; for a more general
discussion of these problems, see Ventura, “Il problema storico,” pp. xi–cxxxvi.