venetian literature and publishing 633
theater in Venice in the last two decades of the century, after nearly a
century of improvised public and semi-public venues and various systems
of payment; these included theaters built in 1542 and 1565.19 two leading
Venetian patrician families, the Michiel and the tron, constructed the-
aters not far from rialto to be used for the public performance of come-
dies in Carnival in about 1580, at the time of a grain crisis and the opening
of andrea Palladio’s teatro Olimpico in Vicenza.20 both families had had
an active role in theater earlier in the century, with the Michiel having
members in at least two Compagnie della Calza and Luca tron one of
the government officials leading the way to ruzante’s 1525 rehearsal. the
Venetian republic, the only peninsular state to maintain even a limited
form of shared governance and, without imperial connections, having a
greater reliance on the loyalty of the popular classes, took the same turn
toward public, paying theater taken by the english, with their Parliamen-
tary tradition, at about the same time. the Michiel and Pasqualigo were
among the Venetian families with strong commercial ties to england.21
however, Jesuits succeeded in convincing the government to impose
restrictions on theatrical productions in 1581, and within a few years per-
formances had ceased.
Il SeicentoPolitical Assertiveness Renewed Then Dampened
by the late 16th century, the republic seemed to have overcome some
of the challenges facing it. Victory at the battle of Lepanto (1571) put a
check on threats from the Ottoman empire and boosted Venice’s military
reputation. galileo galilei’s improved telescope offered (an unfortunately
illusory) hope of a return to navigational superiority, while opening a new
world of celestial observation. Various developments in the production
and finishing of silk, including its cultivation in the mainland state,
provided a significant source of commerce.22
19 riccò, “Su le carte,” p. 159
20 siro Ferroni, “La vendita del teatro: tipologie europee tra cinque e seicento,” in
Christopher Cairns, ed., The Commedia dell’Arte from the Renaissance to Dario Fo (Lewiston,
1989), pp. 35–72; edward Muir, The Culture Wars of the Late Renaissance (Cambridge,
Mass., 2007), p. 130.
21 Carroll, “Venetian attitudes.”
22 Luca Molà, The Silk Industry of Renaissance Venice (baltimore, 2000).