346 anna bellavitis
of artisans left their dowries to their husbands, which they had certainly
earned with their own work—and, perhaps, supplemented with the help
of some charitable organization—rather than inherited from their fathers.
if dowries had been invested in the shop, in which husband and wife col-
laborated, it was difficult to ask the widower to relinquish a part of it to
repay the wife’s dowry. it is hard to say whether the case of a wife’s will
leaving the husband heir, to the detriment of her family of origin, is to
be considered the result of coercion or pressure on the husband’s part.
Some women, nevertheless, expressed this worry in their will, which they
dictated to the notary in a moment when their husbands were absent
or while they visited relatives. this occurred in the case of the widow of
a furrier, remarried in Padua, and who, taking advantage of a visit to a
brother who was still in Venice, dictated her will to the notary, leaving 300
ducats to her son from her first marriage. at the end of the will, she had
the notary write: “and in case i am forced by my husband, or by someone
else, to rewrite my will, it shall only be valid if i write Jesus maria, Jesus
maria, Jesus maria three times.”57
Bibliographyambrosini, Federica, “toward a Social History of Women in Venice from the Renaissance
to the enlightment,” in John martin and dennis Romano, eds., Venice Reconsidered
(Baltimore/london, 2000), pp. 420–53.
arnaldi, Girolamo, and manlio Pastore Stocchi, eds., Storia della cultura veneta, 6 vols
(Vicenza, 1976–86).
Bellavitis, anna, “apprentissages masculins, apprentissages féminins à Venise au XVie
siècle,” Histoire Urbaine 15 (2006), 49–63.
——, “Ars mechanica e gerarchie sociali a Venezia tra XVie XVii secolo,” in mathieu arnoux
and Pierre monnet, eds., Le “technicien” dans la cité en Europe occidentale (1250–1650)
(Rome, 2004), pp. 161–79.
——, Famille, genre, transmission à Venise au XVIe siècle (Rome, 2008).
——, “Genere e potere politico tra medioevo ed età moderna,” Quaderni Storici 118.1
(2005), 230–38.
——, Identité, mariage, mobilité sociale. Citoyennes et citoyens à Venise au XVIe siècle
(Rome, 2001).
——, “ ‘Per cittadini metterete.. .’ la stratificazione della società veneziana cinquecentesca
tra norma giuridica e riconoscimento sociale,” Quaderni Storici 89.2 (1995), 359–84.
——, “Quando la Seconda corona della Veneta Repubblica si racconta: la cronichetta
da ca’ Ziliol,” in James Grubb, ed., Family Memoirs from Venice (15th–17th centuries)
(Rome, 2009), xxxi–li.
——, “le travail des femmes dans les contrats d’apprentissage de la Giustizia Vecchia
(Venise, XVie siècle),” in isabelle chabot, Jerôme Hayez, and didier lett, eds., Le travail,
57 Bellavitis, Famille, p. 134.