452 benjamin ravid
a Venetian woman, these two waiting periods of 15 and 25 years could be
shortened to eight and 15 years respectively.
in order to constitute a minority in Venice, a critical mass of foreigners
had to maintain their group identity by retaining some combination of
the religious, cultural, and linguistic or other characteristics that estab-
lished their non-Venezianità (non-Venetianness). such a group was often
referred to as a natione or, on occasion, a università (community). the
most frequent manner of expressing that status was to establish what was
known as a scuola (confraternity), a lay association with its own bylaws
(mariegola or capitoli) and officials, as did the associations of tradesmen
and artisans in the city. the scuole, supervised by the Venetian govern-
ment, assembled for religious feasts. if they did not possess their own
building, they maintained altars in existing churches, at which members
prayed to their patron saints and celebrated their days. Scuole were gener-
ally open to foreigners, although they usually had to pay an extra fee and
could not become officials of the scuola.5 additionally, foreigners could
request permission to have their own scuola and to hold religious ser-
vices of their own at an altar in an existing church or to erect their own
building that would be financed by internal taxation and donations by
wealthier members. in addition to promoting the group solidarity of for-
eigners who wished to retain their identity as a minority, scuole provided
members with spiritual support as well as mutual economic assistance
and charitable aid, especially by helping widows and orphans, dowering
poor brides, and assisting at funerals, which was especially significant for
foreigners who had no roots or contacts in the city.6
iithe size of minority groups in Venice at any given time is very hard, if not
impossible, to determine, except for the Jews, whose numbers could be
more accurately ascertained in official censuses because of their compul-
sory enforced residence in the ghetto, but even then uncertainties arise.
au XVIe siècle (rome, 2001), pp. 19–63, and also the chart on pp. 355–56. For the text of
legislation of the Great council of 21 august 1552 on citizenship, see Bellavitis, Identité,
pp. 319–21, english translation in chambers and Pullan, eds., Venice: A Documentary His-
tory, pp. 276–78.
5 see, e.g., F. ortalli, “Per salute delle anime e delli corpi”: Scuole piccole a Venezia nel
tardo Medioevo (Venice, 2001), pp. 105–07.
6 see ortalli, “Per salute delle anime,” pp. 102–04.