the venetian economy 275
analysis of the merely quantitative data, then, is insufficient in explaining
the success and eventual decline of a productive sector.
The great importance of wool in international commerce, from the
Middle Ages onward, and the availability of important historical data sets
have long relegated the silk industry to the margins. Although adequate
quantitative data are not available, it is beyond doubt that silk fabrics con-
tinued to conquer ever greater shares of the market. Owing particularly
to the consistent presence of artisans from Lucca from the 14th century,
Venice grew progressively as a center of silk manufacturing. It has been
estimated that the number of looms rose from 800 in 1430 to 1000 in 1493
and by 1554 had reached 2400.42
Up to the mid-15th century, Venetian merchants got their raw silk sup-
plies in the ports of the Black Sea. But after the fall of Constantinople, the
provisioning areas shifted first to Damascus and then to Aleppo. Between
the 15th and 16th centuries, the galleys imported an annual average of
75,000 pounds from Beirut, while between 1590 and 1604 the amount
would climb to 362,500 pounds. It must be said, however, that a good
portion of the imported silk was re-exported to other centers, mainly Ital-
ian ones. As in the case of wool production, the imports of raw silk seem
to follow the same trend, reaching their peak in the first years of the 17th
century and then diminishing drastically afterwards.43 Still, Venice diver-
sified its supply lines, from Spain to southern Italy, and in this case as
well showed a capacity of adapting itself according to market changes.
Silk cloths productions were diversified by not only targeting traditional
products for the wealthy elite but also producing thinner fabrics for the
growing demand of the middle classes.44
Nor did Venetian industry produce cloths alone. Its printing industry
was by far the most important in early 16th-century Europe. By the middle
of the century, the number of printed publications in the city was twice
that of all the other great Italian centers put together.45 Yet, at the end of
the 16th century, the Venetian press was struggling to maintain its suprem-
acy and left plenty of room for its northern European competitors.
42 Luca Molà, The Silk Industry of Renaissance Venice (Baltimore, 2000), p. 17.
43 Domenico Sella, Commerci e industrie a Venezia nel secolo XVII (Venice, 1961), pp. 110–
11; Molà, The Silk industry, pp. 58–60.
44 Molà, The Silk industry, pp. 75–88.
45 Paul F. Grendler, The Roman Inquisition and the Venetian Press, 1540–1605 (Princeton,
1977), p. 229.