Stele del pan
The last of the large stelae made of “ Istrian marble ”, which were erected in Venice until the 18th century and on which proclamations were carved, is called the Stele del pan . These should permanently publicize regulations and bans, in this case on the production and trading of wheat bread and flour, but also their smuggling. Therefore, they were placed in places that practically everyone had to pass. In addition, its content was read aloud so that, as it is called in the “bread stele”, no one could invoke ignorance. It has been exposed to vandalism several times , for example in 2012 and 2019, and had to be extensively restored .
description
The stele del pan has been located in the Cannaregio sestiere since 1727 , more precisely at the end of Calle Dolfin (Calle Dolfin, 5619/5621), immediately on the passage turning to the left under Palazzo Falier . The stele stands with its back on the Rio Santi Apostoli , which connects the Canal Grande via the Rio dei Gesuiti with the northern lagoon of Venice . The front also points in the direction of the aforementioned Calle Dolfin, which is located on the winding, busy footpath between the Rialto Bridge and Strada Nova. This made this point one of the most frequented places in the city, both by pedestrians and boats, in the 18th century.
In addition to the lion of St. Mark as the state symbol, the stele bears a text 51 lines in length on the front. The text of the resolution of October 27, 1727 was made public on October 31 of the same year in the form of this stele. The inquisitor sopra datii Giovanni Battista Lippomani was responsible. This office holder, elected by the Grand Council , the assembly of the male patriciate of the city, primarily had to guarantee the customs revenue and consequently also tasks in the fight against smuggling . Due to the nature of the lagoon, this could almost only be done over water, which in turn required a control of the boat traffic.
background
In Venice, as early as the 14th century, the majority of residents were only allowed to buy their bread from the baker. This baker faced the population in two forms, namely as a contract baker, who in Venice was called forner or pancuogolo , or as a hawker baker, as a pistor . The contract bakers, who were only allowed to receive the flour from their customers and bake it into bread, organized themselves from 1445 in a scuola , a kind of guild , which in 1516 managed to limit the number of permitted baking ovens in Venice to 65. Numerous obligations, including price requirements, resulted in numerous contract bakers becoming impoverished and giving up their craft in the 17th and 18th centuries.
On the other hand, the bakers who baked and sold bread independently and were allowed to buy flour to go with it, prospered. The number of bakeries was also limited, to 39 in 1471 and to 48 from 1581. In contrast to their impoverished colleagues, however, they often traded grain, despite strict prohibitions. This connection, which was dangerous for the security of supply and threatened with a fine of 1000 ducats in 1589 , with confiscation of all goods and 18 months of galley , was extremely lucrative. In 1715 , the hawker bakers of the Republic of Venice were able to borrow the enormous sum of 100,000 ducats. The business took up so much time that the now completely inexperienced bakeries had to rely on permanent teams of five, so-called compagnie, with an ingenious division of labor. A distinction was made between sieves, kneaders or weighers, water collectors, oven feeders and oven managers who were instructed by an experienced baker, the infornador . In addition, there were sellers in the shops that had meanwhile been leased (which was originally also a criminal offense) and wood cutters who were paid for the firewood. In addition, in 1514 the bakers leased the large bread banks , namely the panatterie at Rialto , where there were already 22 shops in 1471, and San Marco , where the city leased 17 shops. The provisions of the Stele del pan were therefore tailored to the influence of the hawkers, the pistori , who had been pure trading entrepreneurs with perhaps 1,500 employees since the late Middle Ages.
Anyone who operated a furnace could try to participate in the business, and the transporters of the goods tried to avoid the corresponding prices and taxes. On the one hand, this damaged the baker's business and, on the other hand, the state lost considerable income, as illegally produced or shipped bread could get into the city without the usual taxes. In order to prevent this, the state developed an extensive system of guards, boats to combat smuggling (especially at night), observation points, but also informers and informers. This reached its limits, especially in times of high prices, as the frequent repetition of the same threats of punishment shows.
Regulations and threats of penalties
Bread made from wheat flour - millet was considered poor people's grain - was therefore only allowed to be made or sold in the shops of the pistori , the peddler, under threat of punishment . Sales in private homes, on the street, or out of boats were prohibited. Only the trade in labeled bread was allowed (which in turn was only labeled if the taxes attached to it had been paid). In the event that the violations were committed by owners of stoves, the forneri , threatened to double the penalty. So if necessary you paid 50 ducats instead of 25 - which, with a fine weight of 3.44 g , corresponded to a total of 86 or 172 g of gold . In addition, there was the threat of corporal, prison or galley punishment for each individual offense. This also applied to everyone who acted on behalf of the delinquents; accordingly, “minors” (putti) became cabin boys on the state ships, and their clients were given the said fines. As the stele text notes, this proclamation was to be printed, made public, and carved in marble and placed in places where many people passed. Owners of shops and shops that sold unlabeled bread should also be punished and treated like smugglers. In order to determine the delinquents, anonymous reports were also accepted, for which the inquisitor responsible for the charges was supposed to investigate. Finally, on the stele there is a section relating to the barcaroli , the leaders of the transport boats, whose smuggling activities should be stopped. You should only be allowed to transport the marked and labeled bread, and again only to the said sales points. They were not even allowed to transport passengers who were carrying unlabeled bread. The barcaroli not only had to expect a heavy fine, but also the burning of their boat and a two-year exclusion from service as state-licensed boatman (this part of the text, which was addressed to the barcaroli , was written on the back of the stele that the Rio S. Apostoli was and is facing, repeated). Marble tablets with the same content should be placed on the portal of the ghetto , on the Riva dell'Olio, on Santi Apostoli and all frequented places. All this is done in order to end a situation that is harmful to the general public and the hawker alike, the text concludes.
The wording
The text reads: Il Serenissiom Prencipe / fa saper / et e d'Ordine dell Illustrissimo et Eccellentissimo signor / inquisitor sopra datii. / Che alcvno cosi Hvomo come Donna non ardisca di fabricar / o far fabricar vender o far vender pane di farina di formento / in qval si sia lvoco della Città cosi Foresto come Casalino / nelle Case ne in Barche ne per le Strade alla Porta di Ghetto / Riva dell Oglio Santi Apostoli ne in altri lvoghi della Citta / in pena di Corda Preggion Galera e de Ducati vinticinque / per cadavno ogni volta che contrafacessero la metta de / quali su de Ministri che facessero le Retentioni delli re oltre / la meta del Pale e Ducati cinque dall Arte de Pistori ne / possino vscir di Preggione li Retenti se non haveranno vn [a] / Fede dal Gastaldo svdetto che su stata reintegrata l / Arte delli Ducati cinque esborsati e se si trovasero transgr / esori li Forneri cadino in pena dvplicata gia decretata. / Li Pvtti di eta non ottima possino esser retenti e post [i] / per Mozzi sopra le Publiche Navi es intendano in corsi e sot / toposti a tvtte le pene sopradette qvelli che li havessero / mandati a vender detto Pane./ [S] e alcvno ardisce di temerariamente ostare alle Retentioni / e Rei o all asporto del Pane s intendi cadvto e soccombente / alle pene medesime de delinqventie possino tanto gl vni / qvanto ogn altro esser Retenti da ogni Capitanio / con li premu sopradetti. / Possino pvre esser Retenti li Magazenieri Osti e qvei delle / Camere Locande che tenessero Pan Forestier od ogni altro / lvogo fvori da qvei Pistori che fvssero obligati a riceverlo / semper Segnato e Marcato giusto all obligo deli [s] tessi / e non essendo con tali requesiti s intendi semper per contra / bando e li medesimi soggieti alle sopradette pene. / Li Barcaroli che condvcessero Pane in questa Citta e'l [e] / vassero persone che ne portassero cadino nella pena de / Dvcati vinticinqve ed esserli abbrvciata la Barca es / intendino banditi per anni dve da qvuel Traghetto in / cvi esercitassero la Liberta. / Sia il presente Proclama Stampato Pvblicato et inciso / in Marmo alla Porta del Ghetto Riva dell Oglio Santi / Apostoli San Martin et altri lvoghi piv freqventati da / Contrafacienti accio resti prestata l'intera oboperza / [a] llo steso ne possa esser adotto pretesto d'ignoranza. / Per venire in lvme de Rei si accettaranno Denoncie secrete / e si formera Processo per via d Inqvisitione contro simili con / trafattori onde si estirpi vn disordine si pernitioso non solo / all interests del Pvblico che a qvello del Arte di Pistori. / Date li 27 Ottobre 1727. / Gio. Battista Lippomano Inqvisitor Sopra Dacii / Candido Qverini Nod. dell Inqvisit. / Adi 31 Ottobre 1727 Pvblicato sopra le Scale / di San Marco e di Rialto et altri lochi.
literature
- Renzo Ravagnan, Marina Daga: Sul restauro. Formazione e cantieri nel Veneto 1995-98 , Il prato, 2000, p. 84 f. (with transcription).
- Eugenio Vittoria: Le strane pietre di Venezia e curiosità , Venice 1969, pp. 35-39.
Web links
- la stele del pan , VeneziaMuseo
Remarks
- ↑ This and the following according to Hans-Jürgen Hübner: Quia bonum sit anticipare tempus. The municipal supply of Venice with bread and grain from the late 12th to the 15th century , Peter Lang, Frankfurt / M. - Berlin - Bern - New York - Paris - Vienna 1998, pp. 406-426.
Coordinates: 45 ° 26 ′ 24 ″ N , 12 ° 20 ′ 12.1 ″ E