charity and confraternities 433
the sacred trust established between devout citizens and charitable
institutions was not something the Venetian leadership ignored or took
lightly. one of the responsibilities of the Procuratori di san Marco, com-
posed of the most esteemed nobles of Venice, was the oversight of charita-
ble endowments.40 this spirit of oversight and duty inspired the formation
of two special commissions (1489 and 1526) to examine hospital practices.
the preamble to the 1489 report, which would be repeated again verbatim
in 1526, gave an internal assessment of charitable institutions and their
importance to the Venetian state.
our pious ancestors have built and bequeathed hospitals in substantial
numbers in this our city, which, as is well known, are constituted in various
different ways and excellently endowed. But the greater part of them are in
a poor condition and even decayed, which is an offence to God and to the
honour of our state, on account of the complaints of the poor who are not
receiving their dues as they ought, or in accordance with the bequests and
instructions of testators. God does not ignore these laments, for it is written:
“i am not indifferent to the cries of the poor.”41three senators and a notary were to inspect the hospitals of Venice and
ensure that the last wishes of the testators were being implemented. the
nobles took action based on the belief that God would hear the cries of
the poor and weak, for (as the statute stated) the poor did not petition
Venetian authorities for redress of their ills but appealed directly to the
almighty.
the hospital reforms are important also for what they do not mention.
the reforms did not call for a study of the efficacy of relief; rather, the
primary concern was the sacred trust of the testator. Venetian authori-
ties desired to fulfill their commitment regarding the pious bequests and
not provoke divine wrath for their negligence. Venetian authorities had
to answer to God, the living (poor), and the dead (testators). the respon-
sibility of the Venetian government was not to eradicate the causes of
poverty but to ensure that the religious obligation of donor and recipi-
ent was fulfilled. they regulated but did not directly subsidize poor relief.
this was not an indication of indifference to the poor, however, because
the government did closely supervise these institutions. the government
40 Mueller, reinhold, The Procuratori di San Marco and the Venetian Credit Market
(new york, 1977).
41 sanuto, I Diarii, vol. 42, cols 257–60, quotation in col. 258. Portions of the decree are
translated by Pullan, Rich and Poor, p. 211. the initial decree was promulgated 29 June 1489
and renewed on 28 July 1526. Latin phrase inspired by Psalm 9:13.