charity and confraternities 431
the Venetian government preferred to rely on individual piety in a
decentralized system, but public funds were sometimes allocated to sup-
port special initiatives. the preambles to these governmental decrees
provide critical insights into the formulation of public policy, for the jus-
tification of expenditures summarized the sentiments of the ruling elite.
one example was the hospital of Gesù Cristo at sant’antonio. initially
proposed in 1476 to care for refugees fleeing the wars in dalmatia, the
modest hospital (housing 25–30 paupers) was not completed until 1503.34
Granting financial support on 12 March 1503 to complete the project, the
Great Council explained why public funds should be used to support
charitable endeavors.
the chief and most salutary means of obtaining divine favour for a state
and republic, just as for private persons, is the maintenance of the poor, in
whom the person of our Lord Jesus Christ is represented; and hence the
chief ornament of every most noble city is, and always has been, some excel-
lent hospital for feeding the poor. Proceeding on these lines, our good and
pious ancestors gave a notable beginning to the hospital at sant’antonio,
which has now been completed, and where many paupers could be lodged
if the means for their support were forthcoming.35the decree reiterated that the primary motivation to care for the poor
was to obtain divine favor. the poor represented Christ on earth, yet
assistance was still not indiscriminately provided. the decree stipulated
that “because it is convenient to deliberate and declare what type of poor
are to be placed and maintained in the hospital... it is declared that in
this hospital be housed only Venetian poor or sailors or other deserving
poor that have earned the gratitude of our state.”36 the poor might rep-
resent Christ, but charity in this public hospital had to be earned through
useful service to the state. divine favor could be merited through care of
the poor, but those receiving public aid were required to have performed
some service to the common good.
the decree recognized hospitals as ornaments to noble cities, and the
hospital of Gesù Cristo di sant’antonio did attract the attention of other
Christian states. in July 1487 Pope innocent Viii issued a decree granting
34 Pullan, Rich and Poor, pp. 212–14. for a newly discovered printed copy of the papal
bull (1475) granting indulgences in support of the hospital, see daniela fattori, “incunaboli
sconosciuti e incunaboli semisconosciuti all’archivio di stato di Venezia,” La Bibliofilia 102
(2000), 253–57.
35 the entire document is recorded in sanuto, I Diarii, vol. 4, cols 810–12. the introduc-
tion to the decree is translated in Pullan, Rich and Poor, p. 214.
36 sanuto, I Diarii, vol. 4, col. 812.