venice and its minorities 471
rome, and in its report to the doge, the collegio noted that the repute of
the republic was great in china.57
Viithe Jews were the most closely controlled and restricted minority in Ven-
ice, infidels who for very specific purposes were allowed to reside in the
city, from 1516 until the end of the republic in compulsory, segregated and
enclosed quarters, as the Venetian government gradually and grudgingly
allowed raison d’état to overcome its longstanding policy of religious hos-
tility toward them. Most supervision over Jews was initially granted to two
magistracies, the cattaveri and the cinque savii alla Mercanzia, and from
1723, to the inquisitorato sopra gl’ebrei, which was established in order
to assure the solvency of the Jewish community in order to enable it to
continue to operate its pawnshops and to repay debts owed to christians.
additionally, the collegio, senate, and other councils and administrative
and judicial organs of the republic frequently concerned themselves with
the Jews, leaving very much information for reconstructing their vicissi-
tudes in Venice. recent scholarship has established that their economic
importance as international merchants and moneylenders was greater
than previously assumed, as was also their interaction with the surround-
ing christian environment, notwithstanding attempts of the government
to limit it to the necessary minimum.58
down to the end of the 14th century, apparently only a few Jews
dwelled in Venice, while others passed through the city, possibly staying
temporarily. Motivated by the church policy of condemning moneylend-
ing at interest among christians, in 1254 the Venetian government out-
lawed moneylending at interest, and this may have discouraged Jews from
settling.59 However, in 1382, as a result of the economic dislocation, short-
age of cash, and need for credit resulting from the War of chioggia against
Genoa, the Venetian government, after much consideration, reversed its
policy and issued a charter permitting anyone to engage in moneylending
57 see Fedalto, “stranieri a Venezia e a Padova,” p. 264.
58 For a concise history of the Jews of Venice, see B. ravid, “the Venetian Government
and the Jews,” in r. c. davis and B. ravid, eds., The Jews of Early Modern Venice (Baltimore,
2001), pp. 3–30. the other essays in that volume deal with many significant aspects of Jew-
ish life and culture in Venice.
59 see r. c. Mueller, The Procuratori di San Marco and the Venetian Credit Market (new
York, 1977), pp. 229–30, 247–80.