450 benjamin ravid
observed in 1495 that “most of their people are foreigners,” a statement
that while exaggerated, nevertheless represented the impression made
by Venice upon non-Venetians who came to the city.1 Furthermore, after
major plagues, especially the Black death of 1348–49 and the two sub-
sequent plagues of 1577 and 1630–31, in which 26.5 and 32.1 per cent of
the population respectively died,2 the Venetian government embarked
upon a policy of attracting immigrants, especially artisans and workers,
to repopulate the city and to enable it to continue to function, on occa-
sion offering significant concessions.3 indeed, at all times it was always
ready to welcome those who could benefit its economy by bringing mer-
chandise to Venice for sale, by making purchases in the city, or especially
by introducing the manufacture of new goods or improved techniques of
manufacturing of existing products.
next, it is necessary to determine who was considered a Venetian and
to clarify whether foreign immigrants could shed their status of being for-
eigners by becoming Venetians, and if so, how. at the end of the 13th
century and during the early part of the 14th, by the process known as the
serrata (closing or locking) of the Great council, the ranks of the nobility
were closed and eventually recorded in the Libro d’oro (Golden Book),
with new families subsequently admitted in return for large financial
payments, primarily at two great times of crisis. the nobles possessed a
monopoly of all political rights and power and could engage in commerce
both within the city and outside it, including international maritime trade
with the east that was the traditional source of Venetian wealth, enriching
those who engaged in it and providing the Venetian treasury with con-
siderable revenue from the import and export customs duties. Below the
nobles were the cittadini originarii (original citizens, i.e., citizens by birth),
often referred to as just cittadini. to be a member of this group required
proof of having been born in Venice of legitimately born ancestors who
had resided in Venice for at least three generations and during that time
1 see s. Kinser, ed. and i. cazeaux, trans., The Memoirs of Philippe de Commynes, 2 vols
(columbia, s.c., 1969–73), 2:493, quoted in d. chambers and B. Pullan, eds., Venice: A Docu-
mentary History, 1450–1630 (oxford, 1992), p. 235.
2 see G. Fedalto, “Le minoranze straniere a Venezia tra politica e legislazione,” in H.-G.
Beck, M. Manoussacas, and a. Pertusi, eds., Venezia: Centro di mediazione tra oriente e
occidente, secoli xv–xvi: aspetti e problemi, 2 vols (Florence, 1977), 1:148; P. Preto, “Peste
e demografia: L’età moderna,” in Venezia e la Peste: 1348–1797 (Venice, 1979), pp. 97–98;
and P. Preto, “Le grandi pesti dell’età moderna: 1575–77 e 1630–1631,” in Venezia e la Peste:
1348–1797, pp. 123–126.
3 see a. Zannini, Venezia città aperta: Gli stranieri e la Serenissima XIV–XVIII sec. (Ven-
ice, 2009), pp. 30–34.