Dangerous liaisons, or strategies for family management in eighteenth-century Venice

ABSTRACTIn 1745, a lengthy and unusual case was brought before the Venetian Executors against Blasphemy, a secular court with jurisdiction over a wide range of crimes that violated standards of morality. The parents of two young women from the Venetian mainland state were accused of pimping their two eldest daughters to Jewish men from the Venetian Ghetto in return for financial support, helping them to support their ten children. But the story became much more complicated as the court investigated the young women’s relationships; one of the daughters did seem to have a relationship with a married Jew who had promised to convert and marry her, while the other was actually a nobleman’s courtesan, supported by the same patrician who served as a guardian to a young Giacomo Casanova. Although to the patricians who served as judges, any exploitation of a young woman’s sexuality was deemed criminal, ordinary eighteenth-century Venetians saw things differently. Large families were difficult to support, and all members contributed as they were able. Typically we think of apprenticeships, domestic service, and piecework as the key strategies for supporting a family and training children for their future lives. For women, historians have long acknowledged that service carried risks of sexual exploitation, as well. But what has not been recognised as a strategy is the encouragement of premarital relations or of sex work as alternatives to domestic service and piecework. Through a microhistorical approach, this article argues that the case of the Zambelli family shows us a wider range of morally ambiguous options for supporting a large family and setting up daughters to leave the family home, many of which included threats of sexual exploitation, damaged honour, and unwanted pregnancies.KEYWORDS: Familyreligionsex workfemale networksItalymoralityVenice AcknowledgmentsThe author would like to thank Professor Elizabeth Cohen, Dr Ross Carroll, and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions on drafts of this article. The broader research project of which this is a part is funded by the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Archival sourcesArchivio di Stato di Venezia, Esecutori contro la bestemmia, b. 17, ‘Contro Zuanne e Benetta Zambelli, Momolo Todesco, e Giuseppe Piccoli,’ 1745–1746.Notes1. *N.B. Venetian documents of this period still used the More Veneto style of dating, in which the year changed over on March 1. To avoid confusion, I have rendered dates according to the modern system; i.e. the new year begins January 1.Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Esecutori contro la bestemmia, b. 17, ‘Contro Zuanne e Benetta Zambelli, Momolo Todesco, e Giuseppe Piccoli,’ Denunciation, 11 August 1745, fol. 2. [NB: the folio numbering of this trial is inconsistent – some folios are not numbered, and on several occasions the numbering restarts. All elements of the trial will thus be labeled/dated and folio numbers indicated where available. All archival material is taken from this trial; therefore further citations will include only the label, date, and, where available, folio number(s).]2. In 18th century Turin, the average age of marriage for women was 24; the average was higher for women working in retail/trade (26) and higher still for servants (28). Similar patterns are evident for popolano women based on cases in the Esecutori contro la bestemmia court for seduction under pretense of marriage, in which most of the women bringing suit against their lovers were in their twenties, and were described by the court as ‘nubile.’ Cases found in ASVe, Esecutori contro la bestemmia, bb. 1–53.3. Denunciation written by Giuseppe Battistella, 11 August 1745, fol. 2.4. Testimony of Zuanne Zambelli, 2 September 1745, fol. 25 r.5. Testimony of Benetta Zambelli, 21 August 1745, n.p.6. Defense of Zuanne and Benetta, capitolo 9, submitted in late March 1746, n.p.7. ‘Aveva della inclinazione a detta putta.’ Testimony of Zuanne Zambelli, 2 September 1745, fol. 26 v-27 r.8. Testimony of Angelo Schievano, 27 September 1745, fol. 4 r; Testimony of Angelo Lutato, 27 September 1745, fol. 7 v; Testimony of Domenica Peghin, 13 November 1745, fol. 38 r; Testimony of Zuanne Feverero, 29 September 1745, fol. 19 v.9. Defense of Momolo Todesco, n.p.10. Testimony of Giuseppe Battistella, 12 August 1745, 3 v.11. Testimony of Giacomina Bisi, 2 May 1746, n.p.12. The court followed a lead provided by Battistella, who gave them the name Perina Colloredo. They did not find a Perina Colloredo, but they did find a Laura Giordani, whose husband was Zorzi Colloredo; this also led them to Laura’s daughter Francesca, who also practiced midwifery though she was unlicensed. Testimony of Laura Giordani, 18 August 1745, fol. 8 r; Testimony of Francesca Colloredo, 18 August 1745, fol. 9 r.13. '…ritrovai… Elisabetta in letto.. gridava da dolori.' Testimony of Giacomina Bornati, 19 August 1745, fol. 11 r.14. ‘L’avrei consegnata alla mia solita donna perché giusto in casi simili la portasse al pio luogo, e subito partita mi portai da donna Faustina vedova che abita in Calle del Liompardo all’Ancoretta.’ Testimony of Giacomina Bornati, 19 August 1745, fol. 11 r.15. Testimony of Giacomina Bornati, 19 August 1745, fol. 11 v-12 r.16. Testimony of Faustina Naduri, 23 August 1745, fol. 17 r.17. Testimony of Catta, 18 August 1745, fols. 9 r-10 v; Testimony of Laura Maruti, 25 August 1745, fols. 17 v-18 v.18. Copia tratta dal libro scaffetta, records 4588 and 4593. The first baby was brought in on 23 February at the sixteenth hour, baptized as Bonifazio, and given to a wet nurse in San Zanipolo (Santi Giovanni e Paolo) parish. The second was brought in on 25 February at the thirteenth hour, baptized Benvenuto, and sent out to a wet nurse in a small rural village nearly a hundred kilometers from Venice. The details of these arrangements would have been recorded in two different registers, one which kept records of babies sent out within the city and another which recorded those sent outside the city. The women in each case would have received 7 lire to care for the baby for the first year; if the babies survived they received 3 lire 10 soldi through age 6, and then 10 lire 10 soldi after age six; in all cases they also received cloth and shoes each year as well. Testimony of Domenico Fasoi, chancellor of the Pietà, 9 September 1745, fol. 29 r.19. ‘Paolina Zambelli … dipendeva da me, et io l’assistivo.’ Testimony of NH Zuanne Grimani, 25 February 1746, n.p.20. Testimony of NH Alvise Abbate Grimani, 25 February 1746, np. The details of this deal were also confirmed by the Grimani’s lawyer, Antonio Dantini, in his testimony on the same date.21. ‘Conobbe le nostre indigenze.’ Testimony of Zuanne Zambelli, 2 September 1745, fol. 25 v.22. ‘Incomodi.’ Testimony of NH Zuanne Grimani, 25 February 1746, n.p.23. Testimony of Luigi Ferro, doctor, 25 February 1746; Testimony of Nicolò Prepiani, tailor, 25 February 1746; Testimony of Angelo Soravia, shoemaker, 25 February 1746; Testimony of Anzola Filippi, seamstress, 2 May 1746.24. ‘Viddi una creatura giovane scarma piuttosto malvestita ne bella ne brutta, quale mostrava anni 18 in 19 gravida.’ Testimony of Laura Saligio, 28 August 1745, fol. 20 r. Presumably Paolina was attended by Elisabetta and her paternal grandmother; perhaps the second old woman was her maternal grandmother, but she is not identified anywhere.25. Testimony of Laura Saligio, 28 August 1745, fol. 20 r.26. ‘Mi consegnò una creatura maschio bello, e piuttosto grande.’ Testimony of Maria Bianchi, 30 August 1745, fol. 21 r.27. Testimony of Maria Bianchi, 30 August 1745, fols. 20 v-21 r.28. Fede of Stella, scrivana del Pio Ospedale della Pietà, 26 August 1745.29. Copy of the Libro Scaffetta for 20–21 August 1745, fol. 35 r.30. 'Affare di grande importanza.' Letter from Paolina Zambelli to Giuseppe Zuliani, 24 August 1745, n.p.31. ‘Mi rispose che aveva avuto commercio con diversi NH e che non sapeva di chi potesse esser, con Ebrei mi disse di no.’ Testimony of Giuseppe Zuliani, 26 August 1745, fol. 19 v. Wanting more information, the priest also visited the Pietà and examined their record books. He apparently found a record of a baby handed over at the correct time, but saw no note of a fede, because this was not recorded in the Libro scaffetta but was presumably kept in a different register and set aside for safekeeping.32. One neighbor said she was gone about 20 days and had returned sometime around 3–8 September. Testimony of Maria Campi, 23 September 1745, fol. 37 r.33. ‘Ora è tornata, et è senza pancia.’ Testimony of Maria Girarsi, 16 September 1745, fol. 36 v.34. Testimony of Maria Girarsi, 16 September 1745, fol. 36 v. Calle Colombina is only about fifteen minutes from Corte Morosina on foot, so it is not clear if this statement says something about Venetian concepts of distance or Maria’s imprecise knowledge.35. The unanimous vote to convict occurred on 3 January 1746, and the sentence was publicly announced in Perarolo on 9 January 1746 and in Rialto and San Marco on 15 January 1746.36. Defense of Momolo Todesco, 29 January 1746, n.p.37. ‘Questa era una giovine di anni 18 in 20 in circa scarma piuttosto bassa bella a cui io le dissi qual era il mio dovere, quali erano le mie notizie della pratica di detto Ebreo, la necessità di doverlo licenziar di sua casa, et il mio debito di riferirlo a questo Eccellentissimo Magistrato in caso differente.’ Testimony of Rev. Giuseppe Zuliani, 21 August 1745, fol. 12 v.38. Testimony of Rev. Giuseppe Zuliani, 21 August 1745, fol. 13 r.39. Testimony of NH Zuane Grimani, 25 February 1745, n.p.; Testimony of NH Alvise Abbate Grimani, 25 February 1745, n.p.40. Testimony of Zuanne Zambelli, 2 September 1745, fol. 27 v.41. ‘Mostrò atti di dolore da disperato, e con gridi, e con pianti disse: poveretto mi son disperato.’ Defense of Zuanne and Benetta Zambelli, capitolo 35.42. Defense of Zuanne and Benetta Zambelli, capitoli 43–44.43. ‘Che alla nostra visita in Perarolo capitavano diverse persone nostri amici, di civil condizione, e di onesti costumi.’ Defense of Zuanne and Benetta Zambelli, capitolo 45.44. ‘Che nell’educazione delle nostre figliole e figli abbiamo avute tutte le applicazioni per correggerli, per istruirli nel santo timor di Dio, e di farle insegnare a nostre spese qualche onorato mestiere per loro vantaggio.’ Defense of Zuanne and Benetta Zambelli, capitolo 41.45. Defense of Zuanne and Benetta Zambelli, capitoli 36–39.46. ‘Che zelanti sacerdoti si sono interessati di locar in Claustrauli chiostri delle Penitenti e Zitelle, il che seguirà con brevità rispettivamente di Antonia fra le Penitenti, e di Santina vergine, nostre figlie, nelle Zitelle.’ Defense of Zuanne and Benetta Zambelli, capitolo 40.47. ‘Elisabetta è in casa sicura et in buona custodia.’ Testimony of Padre Bernardino Antonio Bastivi, 2 May 1746, n.p.48. ‘Anzoletta è in luogo sicuro.’ Testimony of Padre Bernardino Antonio Bastivi, 2 May 1746, n.p.49. Testimony of Padre Francesco Rossi, 4 May 1746, n.p.50. ‘La castità è sua, il volere è suo, gl’empiti dell’età son suoi, se questi producono in loro il dannoso effetto d’unirle insieme libertà e volere; volere e disonestà, il riparo è spedito, il precipizio è aperto, son perduti non solo con colpa de genitori, ma anche con loro inganno, senza che sappino d’aver in casa una detestabile meretrice quando si credono d’aver una vergine.’ Closing statement Zuanne and Benetta Zambelli, not dated (on or after 6 May 1746), n.p.51. Sentences of Zuanne and Benetta Zambelli, 28 June 1746, n.p.52. Young women who had been ‘seduced under pretense of marriage’ frequently brought suit against their lovers if community interventions failed, and in the overwhelming majority of cases, the Esecutori found in favour of the women. Men were sentenced to prison or banishment, which could be avoided through prompt marriage or payment of a dowry. There are 88 such cases in the ASVe, Esecutori contro la bestemmia, bb. 1–53.Additional informationFundingThe work was supported by the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.