294 edoardo demo
for the later historiographical development on the subject), Michael
Knapton underlined the importance of the said work, pointing out that,
regarding the theme in general and the evolution of manufactures in the
Venetian state in particular, “there existed neither in-depth analyses nor
an adequate general vision of the whole.” Knapton recognized that, start-
ing in the mid-1980s, some contributions, such as the works of salvatore
ciriacono, had offered some “interesting points of reflection [.. .] aiming to
bring the discussion of the reality of the Venetian state into contact with
general interpretive paradigms like proto-industry”; but at the same time,
he continued to emphasize the evident gaps in knowledge with regard
to manufactures in the Venetian terraferma both in urban zones and in
various rural centers between the 15th and 18th centuries.8 the works of
Giovanni Zalin and Giovanni Luigi Fontana have certainly highlighted
the continuity of the manufacturing vocation in certain identifiable areas,
which, despite their limited size, have been of great economic importance
from the 16th century up to the present, and in particular the foothill and
pre-alpine zones of Vicenza, treviso, and Venetian Lombardy.9 yet there
remained an urgency to continue upon the path initiated by panciera’s
work in order to obviate the extremely fragmentary nature of the pieces
to the interpretive puzzle.
such appeals also came from other scholars interested in the spread and
development of Veneto manufacturing in the pre-industrial age, motivated
by the important debate regarding two historiographical themes of particu-
lar interest and, in part, connected: the more or less presumed affirmation
of an economic region and a so-called “Veneto regional market,” with the
connected problem of the development of forms of economic integration
and territorial division of labor on a regional scale (a theme particularly
dear to scholars of the late medieval and early modern periods; see, for
example, the contributions in this regard—beyond the above-mentioned
8 Michael Knapton, “I lanifici veneti in età moderna,” archivio Storico Italiano 156.4
(1998), 745–55, 745. among ciriacono’s various works, see, for example: salvatore ciriacono,
“protoindustria, lavoro a domicilio e sviluppo economico nelle campagne venete in epoca
moderna,” Quaderni Storici 18 (1983), 57–80; “echecs et reussites de la proto-industrialisa-
tion dans la Vénétie. Le cas du haut-Vicentin (XVIIe–XIXe),” revue d’histoire moderne et
contemporaine 32 (1985), 311–23; and “Venise et ses villes. structuration et destructuration
d’un marchè regional XVI–XVIII siecle,” revue Historique 286.2 (1986), 287–307.
9 Giovanni Zalin, Dalla bottega alla fabbrica. La fenomenologia industriale nelle province
venete tra ’500 e ’900 (Verona, 1987); Giovanni Luigi Fontana, “Il Lanificio scledense da nic-
colò tron ad alessandro rossi,” in Giovanni Luigi Fontana, ed., Schio e alessandro rossi.
Imprenditorialità, politica, cultura e paesaggi sociali del secondo Ottocento (rome, 1985),
pp. 71–155.