306 edoardo demo
50 in 1543, 70 in 1549, 80 in 1558, and 88 only a year later. as the second half
of the 16th century wore on, these figures continued to grow, evidence of
the further growth in the production of semifinished goods such that, by
1627, the number of operational spinning machines would climb to 194.31
particularly interesting is the case of Bergamo. Inasmuch as spin-
ning and throwing seem to have developed more slowly with respect to
Vicenza and Verona, this city too experienced a considerable increase in
the production of semifinished articles during the second half of the 16th
century. this growth would continue incessantly in the following century
as well, when Bergamo would play host to a spinning operation that was
particularly advanced technologically, thanks to the presence of dozens of
machines powered by hydraulic energy.32
If, as we have seen, between the 15th and 16th centuries the phase of
spinning and throwing took place mainly in the cities, by the end of the
16th century and even more so during the century to come, the presence
of hydraulic machinery for the production of spun and semifinished silk
goods became ever more conspicuous in rural areas as well, particularly
around Feltre and on the banks of the Brenta both north and south of Bas-
sano. these regions saw a notable influx of capital which Venetian patri-
cians invested towards the construction of hydraulic mills “alla bolognese,”
a quite complex and technologically advanced machinery whose usage
required the constant surveillance of competent and expert technicians,
in addition to the employment of numerous unskilled workers. to give
an idea, the sole throwing machine in the town of nove in 1694 provided
jobs to no fewer than 250 workers, while in the early 18th century there
were 1447 people (234 men, 726 women, and 478 children) employed by
the 18 machines located in Bassano, Marostica, and other smaller centers
in the area.33
the production of silk articles in the early modern Veneto was quite
varied and diversified, able to respond to the demands of different mar-
kets: raw silk in finer or “thicker” varietals; semifinished goods of modest
value like the fileselli (obtained from the remains of reeling); or goods of
the highest quality, as in the much sought-after orsogli. In the first three
to four decades of the 16th century, the majority of production seems to
have been dedicated to pieces of medium-quality spun silk to be used as
31 Molà, the Silk Industry of renaissance Venice, pp. 237–38; demo, L’“anima della città,”
pp. 208–09.
32 Mocarelli, “Manufacturing activities in Venetian Lombardy,” pp. 323–24.
33 Vianello, “rural Manufactures and pattern of economic specialization,” pp. 358–60.