eturn to Venetian Society...
In The Venetian Republic the class system was based upon money. The 'nobility'
of Venice were drawn from the patrician classes of rich mercantile families and
within this class the distinction of service to the state and the history of the
family in the lagoon were important factors. The class system in Venice was such
that it put all the political power into the hands of 2% of the actual population.
Commoners
At the lowest level of Venetian society, living in houses on unpaved roads away
from the centre of the city in apartments, were the Common People of Venice. As
the lower class they had all the rights of a citizen as proscribed by Venetian
law but were limited in what they could aspire to within the political framework
of Venetian administration and politics.
Cittadini Originarii
These people had 'full citizenship' of the Republic and its territories. To
qualify as such a citizen it was necessary for the man to have worked for 25
years in Venice without manual labour. This was what the finest Guild Workers
aspired to. The Cittadini Originarii were allowed to hold political and
administrative posts up to the rank of Chancellor who was second only to the
Doge. This class however were still not eligible to vote in Venice although the
feelings of the common men and the citizens were quickly communicated to the
patricians in time of disatisfaction. Many of the mercantile Patricians married
ladies from the Cittadini Originarii since they carried large dowries.
Once status was attained, the family of the man would retain his rank in Venetian
society. Despite what may befall him later.
Aristocracy
The nobility of Venice, were formed of the mercantile classes.
There were 134 noble families by the Sixteenth Century with 2700 members. Members
of this class were recorded in the Libro D'Oro - The Golden Book. Only those men
whose names were inscribed in the book could sit in the Great Council, Venice's
lowest political gathering.
It was possible for the Cittadini Originarii, and the more profitable merchants
to climb into the elevated position of aristocracy by donating 100,000 Ducats to
the State and buying themselves a place in the Libro D'Oro.
The nobility was initially subdivided into the Case Longhi and the Case Curti.
Case Longhi
These houses were composed of those whose forebears could claim to be principally
responsible for founding Venice.
Case Curti
The Curti were newer houses whose ancestry couldn't be traced back beyond the end
of the Eighth Century and the beginning of the Ninth.
Case Grandi
The most powerful houses from Case Curti and Case Longhi formed the Case Grandi
or the Grand Houses. It was from this group that the most influential and
important posts in the Republic were filled.
The Case Grandi comprised nineteen families whose members contributed half of the
Patrician Class. Within the Case Grandi there was a further subdivision with
twelve of these families claiming to be Apostoli whose ancestors were alleged to
have been present at the mythical first elections for the Doge. The families of
Case Grandi were a roll call of Venetian glory and on occasion disaster :
Knights of Saint Mark
Of the 12 Apostoli only three could claim the hereditary right to be a member of
the Republics only Chivalrous order, the Order of Saint Mark. The Knights of
Saint Mark were entitled to wear a golden stole to denote their Knighthood. These
three were : the Contarini, the Morosoni and the Querini families
eturn to Venetian Society...