458 benjamin ravid
great poverty, for which they received no assistance from anyone since
they were foreigners, asked for permission to establish a scuola similar to
the other scuole in the city. their scuola was initially established in 1451
in the ospedale di santa caterina next to the church of san Giovanni del
tempio, and then on its own as san Giorgio degli schiavone, located not
far from the arsenal in castello.25
the albanians constituted the second group of immigrants from the
eastern shores of the adriatic. Links between Venice and albania inten-
sified after the main albanian centers, including durazzo, alessio, and
scutari (shkodër), were conquered by Venice around the end of the 14th
century. Many albanians earned a living as artisans, bakers, barbers, and
workers in the wool industry and the glass industry at Murano or engaged
in petty trade, while others were brought to Venice as slaves and used
as household servants or conscripted into the military.26 the albanians
established their scuola in 1442 in the monastery of san Gallo, and then
in 1448 moved it to the church of san Maurizio. after scutari fell to the
turks in 1479, more albanian immigrants came to Venice, and ten years
later, in 1489, the albanians purchased some land adjacent to the church,
on which they decided to erect their own building. Pointing out that “even
the armenians have their little ospedale, but we do not have one,” it was
decided that all members of the scuola, which in 1497 possessed more
than 150 dues-paying members, were to contribute toward the construc-
tion of a small ospedale. as the dalmatians and the Greeks, the albanians
also played a very important role in Venetian military forces as stratioti.
Unlike other minority groups, the albanians lived scattered throughout
the city, which would seem to indicate that their choice of residence was
based primarily on economic and professional considerations, rather than
on ethnic ones. after the 16th century, the significance of the albanians
gradually declined, and in 1780, the building containing their scuola was
expropriated and given to the scuola of the bakers.
the armenian presence in Venice dates back to at least the 13th century.
in his will of 1253, Marco Ziani, a descendent of doge Pietro Ziani, expressed
his desire that the armenians be able to stay “in perpetuity” in the house
25 see calabi, “Gli stranieri e la città,” p. 917.
26 on the albanians, see s. Moretti, “Gli albanesi a Venezia tra xiv e xvi secolo,”
pp. 5–19; also F. thiriet, “sur les communautés grecque et albanaise à Venise,” in Beck,
Manoussacas, and Pertusi, eds., Venezia, 1:217–31; F. Pedrocco, “Vicende della scuola,” in
t. Pignatti, ed., Le scuole di Venezia (Milan, 1981), pp. 92–93; and calabi, “Gli stranieri e la
città,” pp. 915–17.