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Historians of the Family in Renaissance Europe have devoted much attention to its patriarchal orientation. For the northern Italian cities, intense monographic study of elite behavior has illuminated the guiding principles behind strategies that preserved and enhanced family status. Those principles also occupy a prominent position in the prescriptive writings of contemporary jurists, humanists, and moralists; from them historians have argued that women's powers of decision in the urban environment of Renaissance Italy were severely limited. Similar conclusions have been reached for the Reformation period.

This book is a sweeping historical portrait of the floating city of Venice from its foundations to the present day. Joanne M. Ferraro considers Venice's unique construction within an amphibious environment and identifies the Asian, European and North African exchange networks that made it a vibrant and ethnically diverse Mediterranean cultural centre. Incorporating recent scholarly insights, the author discusses key themes related to the city's social, cultural, religious and environmental history, as well as its politics and economy. A refuge and a pilgrim stop; an international emporium and centre of manufacture; a mecca of spectacle, theatre, music, gambling and sexual experimentation; and an artistic and architectural marvel, Venice's allure springs eternal in every phase of the city's fascinating history.

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Prefacexi laws aimed at circumscribing sexual behavior and protecting patriarchy within the context of a family and inheritance system that restricted marriage. I hope that the cases I have translated and reconstructed in this book may further our understanding of the role culturally constructed laws and societal norms that hinge on gender play in our own life experiences, as well as in the lives of men, women, and infants of the past. This page intentionally left blankxiii I was richly supported throughout the many phases of this project. My frequent visits to the Venetian archives over the past three decades were funded through various sources, including San Diego State University, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Throughout this time, I had the steadfast support and friendship of Michela Dal Borgo, a senior archivist in Venice whose fi eld of research is the documentation of the Council of Ten. Michela introduced me to the Delegated Criminal Inquiries of this magistracy. As I pondered my readings, I turned to Claudio Povolo, professor of history at the University of Venice, who is an expert in the criminal laws and practices of the early modern Republic of Venice. Claudio generously shared his research fi ndings and perspectives with me, and I am heavily indebted to him for his valuable assistance. My colleague and friend Guido Ruggiero has signifi cantly shaped my historical methodology through his own work, as well as offering me immeasurable professional guidance.I tested my ideas in various venues, including the meeting of the Renais-