Identify Venice’s three social classes, and in their context explain the significance of scuola membership. Then consider what institutions, if any, perform the functions of the scuola in the community in which you live. If there are none, what are the

Question

consequences of this lack?

Please provide the best answer for the statement.

Answer 1

1. At the end of the thirteenth century, Venice’s Grand Council divided the city’s population into three social classes. The nobility were the patrician families, from whose members the doge was elected. Beneath this small, upper-echelon group were male citizens, essentially a bourgeois mercantile class of people who rotated through the elective offices of the government. To enter their ranks, one had to prove that no one in the family had ever performed manual labor. The rest of the population made up roughly 90 percent of the city’s inhabitants. They were artisans, craftspeople, shipbuilders, shopkeepers, and all foreigners, no matter how wealthy.
2. Cutting across these distinct political groups were the scuole (“schools”), religious confraternities like those in Florence that engaged in charity, sponsored social functions, and marched in sometimes elaborate processions associated with civic and religious festivals. Each scuola had a patron saint, after whom it took its name. All political groups came together in the scuole; rich and poor, patrician and commoner worked together for the common good, and nobles were specifically prohibited from holding office to underscore the sense of equality and brotherhood that these organizations fostered. Despite internal equality, each scuola competed with others for civic prestige and to enhance its city’s fame. The scuole, therefore, commissioned architects to produce ever grander headquarters and artists to paint ever larger and more magnificent works to decorate them.
3. Students’ identification of institution(s) that perform the functions of the scuola will vary.