Mercato di Rialto
,_Il_Campo_di_Rialto.jpg)
The Rialto Market was the most important trading center in Venice . The name Rialto is derived from the Italian rivo alto = the high bank . It was one of the first places in the lagoon to be settled. From the start, trade and traffic were concentrated on the Rialto.
history
Until the fire of 1514
Originally the Venice market was held on Saturdays in Olivolo's large square in Castello . Especially in the early days, it was known for the absence of taxes and other public burdens, and in this way it was able to compete with the markets of Pavia and Campalto , then among the most important in Italy. When the government settled here in the 9th century, the Rialto became the driving force behind the development of trade. The establishment of a fish and vegetable market was the visible confirmation of the successful efforts. At the end of the 15th century there were only three major markets in Venice, apart from a few small ones. On the first Saturday on San Polo , on the second Saturday on San Marco and on the third always on Campo San Giovanni in Bragora , however, Rialto always remained the most important trading center. They not only traded al minuto , but also handled large batches, set prices, regulated imports, exports and the rental of ships. In addition to the trade in fish and vegetables, there was a commodities exchange , where gold and silver in particular were traded.
The state supervised and directed all these affairs; for trade with the rest of Italy there was the Dogana di Terra , which provided a tax for every transport of materials, every liter of oil, wine, every kilo of flour, millet or beans. There was the Fondaco della Farina , a large state magazine where families could shop and take care of themselves, but only for a period of one month to prevent hamster purchases and speculation . The bakers also stocked up on flour here.
The state rented out uno stazio , an open-air stand with a banco in the foreground, a wooden crate in the back and the whole thing covered with a sail. Of course there were also outpatient traders who, unlike the stallholders, did not have to pay any substantial taxes and were tolerated by them because their modest trade in eggs, chickens and some vegetables was no competition.
Rebuilding
After the fire of 1514, which largely destroyed the Rialto area, the Signoria commissioned a major competition to rebuild the area. After delays and polemics, Antonio Abbondi , also known as Lo Scarpagnino , won the competition. His project largely repeated what had been before, but standardized the design of the new stores and created different business areas. Scarpagnino created a complex of rational urban structures: space-consuming or easily perishable or waste- producing goods such as fish, fruit or vegetables were moved to the shoreline. On the bridge and along Goldschmiedgasse, the ruga degli orefici , there were various and valuable goods such as gold, silver, and spices; the financial activities were at home at Campo S. Giacomo. Public administration took up residence on the upper floors of the palazzi .
In the Rialto area there was no handicraft or industry, it was and remained a large trading center. All goods were brought in by ship on the waterway and, after they had been inspected by the tax officials , were unloaded and transported on by the porters , the bastasi . There were very precise instructions for them, they were only allowed to stay on the banks for the short time they needed to load, unload or check the goods. The hustle and bustle was filled with noise, shouts and curses, but also accompanied the small daily frauds; it differed markedly from the calm and serenity of the nearby Campo in front of the church of San Giacometto, where wealthy and important businessmen of Venice did their big business.
The foresti were also given a separate place, the Modeneser and Luccheser lived in their own houses, the Milanese and Comascher, who mainly dealt with fabrics and silk, were gathered in the Ruga Ca´ Vidal, the Veronese owned a fondaco ( Camp) on S. Nicolo al Lido .
In addition to the Pescheria , the fish market, and the Erberia , the herb market, there was also the Draperia (cloth) and the seat of the twelve Padri di Rivo Alto , who were responsible for the rules of the market, on the Campiello in front of S. Giacomo di Rialto . The Latin inscription on the church of S. Gicometto: "hoc circa templum sit jus mercantibus aequum, pondera nec vergant, nec sit conventio prava" admonished the merchants in this place to practice their trade with decency, not to manipulate the scales and not to cheat. If one of them was caught cheating, he would feel the whip at the Gobbo di Rialto , a sculpture by Pietro da Salò (1541) and had to kiss the figure “basar el Gobo” .
It should not be forgotten that since the year 1300 the bells of San Giacomo have rung in the beginning and closing of the market, the Banco.
The Porticato del Banco Giro still existed on the square , a meeting place for rich merchants, especially members of the nobiltà , the nobility , who did their business here and where the Banca circolante di Credito ( Banco Giro ) was located. Essentially, this was on the one hand an exclusive club of the kings of the pepper and spice trade , as well as many other oriental spices who, wrapped in long black cloaks, held their meetings here since the 12th century. On the other hand, banking and credit transactions were carried out here - for a long time by acclamation (see banks in the economic history of Venice ).
The banco also fulfilled other, no less important tasks: first of all, the fight against the rubbish left behind by the traders, le scoasse , which consisted of fruit, vegetables and fish and gave off a terrible stench. The second task consisted in an attempt to drive the small traders from the Rialto in order to be able to establish a kind of monopoly , which the Signoria tried to thwart. Finally, there was the long struggle against the state authority , which wanted to levy a 5% fee on all inputs. In this case, too, the victory was that of the state which, in 1585, excluded the nobles from the administration of the Rialto.
The Banco , founded in 1157, enclosed the piazzetta of S. Giacomo on two sides and was only overlooked by part of the Fabbriche Vecchie . Over the years, all kinds of adversities had to be withstood until it was finally given a state guarantee.
19th century
The 19th century saw an abundance of projects for the Rialto market. When Emperor Ferdinand of Austria visited Venice in 1833 , Giuseppe Salvadori presented a project filled with late classical influences. Twenty years later, engineer Neville, the designer of numerous iron bridges that still exist, presented a plan with metal roofs and a central well, which was rejected.
After the annexation to Italy in 1866, the problem of modernizing the market on the Rialto became more than urgent. The project was awarded to Federico Berchet. Despite the cost estimate of massive 1,500,000 lire to the ideas of the planner Berchet proved convincing because he is in the planning to the Halles leaned from Paris. Expropriations were inevitable for this.
In the design, the market stretched rectangular with 4000 square meters between Fabbriche Nuove di Rialto and just before the Calle del Campanile di S. Cassiano. It provided for a roof with galvanized iron sheets and a glass light screen. In addition, 130 spacious magazines for wholesalers, a docking point for boats and a fresh water basin for live fish were planned. The draft was presented to the public in a separate sheet to issue 30 of the “Gazetta di Venezia” from 1866.
Three years later, Berchet presented the community with a precisely executed detailed plan; the market was divided into three parts, between the Grand Canal , Calle delle Spade and Campo della Vienna, the cheese market (the Casaria), poultry sales and fish wholesalers were located; between the Rio Beccherie and the square of the same name, the retail trade in fish, the sale of wine, various offices and an "ice cellar" were located; in addition small traders between the Ruga Rialto and the Campo S.Giacomo.
The erection of an iron bridge over the Grand Canal at the level of San Cassiano was never accepted despite detailed drawings of lighting fixtures and stairs. The metal structure built in 1884 always met with rejection from the Venetians, which went so far that the mayor Sarego Alighierei and the city council proposed on November 23, 1887 that it be destroyed.
The painter Cesare Laurenti invented the Pescheria, influenced by a design by Carpaccio , which was built in 1907 by the architect Domenico Rupolo in the Venetian Gothic style - and which was also highly controversial until the inauguration.
Even the customs officers working around the Rialto market could not keep up with the new conditions and forms of trade. Of the ships berthing at the Rialto, only the burchi and peate from S. Giovanni di Padova, Monselice , Este , Frassine and Vicenza stayed , whereas all the others at S. Giobbe on the Cannaregio Canal , at S. Stae on the Canal Grande and on the bank of the Misericordia found their new stazio . In a word: the Rialto market has spread from there over the entire city.
The rigid fixing of food prices, especially fish, caused the various municipal associations to complain about the myriad of regulations on the part of the administration, as these made the free movement of goods difficult. It was not until the French, the “padroni francesi”, in the person of the “prefetto del Adriatico”, that the Ministry of the Interior decreed the repeal of all old structures and regulations, especially those of maximum price fixing. The motion was accepted on December 15, 1806 and the bodies concerned were dissolved.
literature
- Roberto Cessi, Annibale Alberti: Rialto. L'isola - il ponte - il mercato , Bologna 1934.
Web links
- La storia del Mercato di Rialto ( Memento of October 23, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), Associazione Mercato di Rialto
Coordinates: 45 ° 26 '22.9 " N , 12 ° 20' 4.3" E