The Popolani of early Venice

On our third day exploring Venice, Connor and I discussed an article regarding the Popolani population in ancient Venice. This group made up the working class, representing 99% of the population. It was very cool to see so many structures around the town that have been there since the Popolani worked on it, and how interesting the economy of Venice operates. One of the main takeaways I took from our time in Venice is how it experienced such an economic shift from being a producing and exporting town, to the modern day where almost all of their revenue is based on tourism. 

During our time in Venice, we had the chance to visit the Arsenal, a massive structure traditionally used as a naval shipyard that is still standing and partially used today. It was cool to see an area where many of the Popolani population of Venice had been employed, mainly as ship craftsman. During this time, many men who worked at the Arsenal were killed from the danger of their work, leading to an interesting social difference between Popolani and other elites of early Venice. The Popolani men because of these dangers often blessed their wife if widowed to be remarried If they were left without a spouse, though it was less likely for a woman to approve of this for a widowed husband. 

Overall, our time in Venice to explore the landscape and the economy of early and modern day has been valuable in connecting ideas that we’ve discussed in articles to what we have been exploring.