914 margaret f. rosenthal
Women and children in rural areas were involved in the first two phases
of silk production as spinners and weavers. Women also contributed to
the Venetian guilds as fustian weavers, spinners, embroiderers, comb-
makers, and secondhand dealers. spinning, needlework, and lace-making,
typically women’s production, constituted a specialized skill, not merely
a branch of the decorative arts used to adorn the human body. Women,
however, were always inadequately compensated in financial terms for
this hard work and skill.78
Women’s Accessoriesalong with lace trims, other Venetian accoutrements for female garments
included pearl necklaces, brooches pinned in the center of the bodice,
and long, heavily jeweled gold belts. Panties or calzoncini alla galeotta,
akin to men’s breeches, were often worn by Venetian courtesans under
their dresses, sometimes embroidered with sayings such as “voglio il
core” [i want your heart].79 Buttons were made from silver, gold, mother-
of-pearl, and amber.80 Veils or cappe were produced from the finest
and sheerest silks and were large and long enough to cover the faces of
unmarried girls. shoes, or scarpette, from the late 14th century were flat
and often made of the same fabrics as the dress, or of fine leather. they
were decorated with carved or stamped motifs but evolved in the 16th
century into higher platform wedged pianelle, which did not cover the
heels and were created with overlapping layers of cork covered in leather
in order to protect the feet from mud and garbage, with soles reaching
as high as 20 inches.81 Women also wore ankle boots (borzacchini) made
of leather. ostrich-feathered fans, or from cardboard, were decorated
with decoupage motifs and sometimes had ivory, wood, or tortoise-shell
handles. they were either folding in the spanish style or in the form of a
rectangular flag. Purses were made of leather with embossed patterns and
were worn suspended from a simple leather belt around a woman’s waist.
Belts could also be more elaborately made with gold chains. they helped
levey, Lace, pp. 6, 18. on lace-making in Venice, see Brown, Private Lives, pp. 113–16; and
levey, Lace, pp. 9–10, 13–14.
78 satya Bratta Datta, “invisible Women: the Working experiences of Venetian lace-
makers,” in Datta, Women and Men in Early Modern Venice (aldershot, 2003), pp. 183–218.
79 Fabretti, “the italian renaissance,” p. 28.
80 orsi landini, “Da vanità a virtù,” p. 63.
81 Fabretti, “the italian renaissance,” p. 29.