the venetian economy 273
goods, the products of goldsmiths, books and prints, and, naturally, ships
were the principal categories of urban production. Since for so long the
production trend of woolen cloths has been considered indicative of Ven-
ice’s economic health, it might be helpful to represent its evolution in
Figure 5.1, and discuss its validity and limits.
First, it must be noted that Figure 5.1 does not include the 15th-century
data, which seem to be characterized by solid production levels. During
the first half of the 15th century, 3000–5000 pieces were produced annu-
ally, while at the end of the century estimates are in the range of 6000 wool
pieces. That means that the first decades of the 16th century represent a
period of continuity, if not modest decline with respect to the preceding
years. The roots of the sector’s success, then, ought to be traced back to
the 15th century. The workforce consisted in large part of immigrants from
the Po Valley, and together with entrepreneurs of lower social extraction
we find Venetian patricians and wealthy merchants.39 The 16th-century
ascendancy of Venetian textiles, largely exported to Levantine markets,
occurred at the expense of comparable Florentine products, which had
Cinquecento: una città industriale?” in Vittore Branca and Carlo Ossola, eds., Crisi e rinno-
vamento nell’autunno del rinascimento a Venezia (Florence, 1991), pp. 61–83.
39 Andrea Mozzato, “The Production of Woolens in Fifteenth and Sixteenth-Century
Venice,” in Paola Lanaro, ed., At the Centre of the Old World. Trade and Manufacturing in
Venice and the Venetian Mainland, 1400–1800 (Toronto, 2006), pp. 73–107.
050001516�201526�301536�401546�501556�601566�701576�801586�901596�16001606�101616�201626�301636�401646�501656�601666�701676�801686�901696�17001706�101706�2010000150002000025000ClothsSource: Walter Panciera, L’ “arte matrice.” I lanifici della Repubblica di Venezia nei secoli
XVII e XVIII (Venice/Treviso, 1996), pp. 42–43.
Figure 5.1. Production of woolen cloths in Venice, 1516–1723 (quinquennial average).