education in the republic of venice 691
as could be found anywhere in italy at this time. Many towns in the ter-
raferma followed the lead of Venice.46
other reforms came one after another. the Scuola di San Marco, founded
in 1446, was still in existence and now included law lectures. in 1769 the
government ordered these lectures to be delivered in italian rather than
in latin.47 next, the patriarchal sestieri clerical schools that educated
future secular clergymen came under state control, received state funding,
and were expanded. in 1775 the Republic added two upper-level clerical
schools, one on each side of the Grand canal, with four masters each; they
taught sacred eloquence, logic and metaphysics, dogmatic theology, and
moral theology. these four new classes nearly replicated the curriculum
of rhetoric, logic, natural philosophy, metaphysics, Scholastic theology,
and moral theology that Jesuit upper schools taught. in 1785 the five patri-
archal sestieri lower schools had ten instructors teaching grammar and
the humanities, plus the two upper schools with eight teachers. however,
in a startling reversal, the Venetian government in 1797 suppressed all the
patriarchal clerical schools on the grounds that they fomented ignorance,
frivolity, and superstition. the austrian government that took control of
the Republic in 1798 did not revive them.48
in the mid 18th century the Jesuits finally had a flourishing school in
Venice. located at the fondamenta nuove, it had a lower school with
four teachers, two for latin grammar and beginning latin prose, and two
for humanities and rhetoric. the upper school had five teachers: two for
a combination of logic, natural philosophy, and metaphysics, plus single
teachers of mathematics, theology, and casuistry.49 in 1773 the Jesuit
school enrolled about 200 students, the vast majority sons of common-
ers, a few from the citizen class, and possibly a tiny handful of nobles.50
the Jesuit schools in belluno, brescia, padua, Verona, and Vicenza were
smaller.51 then the papacy suppressed the Society of Jesus on 21 July 1773.
the schools closed, and the state seized Jesuit churches, buildings, and
properties throughout the state.
the Republic replaced the Jesuit school in Venice with a state school
whose classes met in the same building. it began in 1774 with 19 teachers
46 Gullino, “Educazione,” pp. 778–82; see also Gullino, La politica scolastica, pp. 80–93.
47 Gullino, “Educazione,” p. 797, col. 2, n. 42.
48 Gullino, “Educazione,” pp. 775–77; Gullino, La politica scolastica, pp. 95–105.
49 brizzi, “Scuole,” p. 510.
50 Gullino, “Educazione,” p. 750.
51 brizzi, “Scuole,” p. 510.