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630 Magnus Ressel

Diagram 1: Customs revenues of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi 1710-1770 in ducats
25000

20000

15000

10000

5000

0
1710 1715 1720 1725 1730 1735 1740 1745 1750 1755 1760 1765 1770

Imports Exports

Source: G. Campos, Il commercio esterno veneziano della seconda meta del ’700 secondo le
statistiche ufficiali, «Archivio Veneto», A. 19 (1936), pp. 145-183.

However, this picture is in some regards misleading. A Venetian
official, Marco Pianeti, wrote on June 3, 1730 to the Cinque Savi alla
Mercanzia his opinion on why the revenues were falling:

The table of Grislotti, established by the wisdom of this Most Excellent
Magistrate, has contributed to the growth of the customs revenues of the im-
port tolls; it was ordered to be observed by the resolution from October, 2 nd
1728, before which time, not safeguarded from abuse, these people [the Gri-
solotti; MR] to whom it was necessary to import goods not coming from Ger-
many imported these in arbitrarily via the Fondaco, now that the merchants
are granted the right to this Customs Office, they find it less burdensome, and
I see that this revenue, maybe not entirely legitimately, has increased in the
past five years 45 .

45 Asv, Cs, II Ser., 72: “Ha contribuito ad accrescere il Dacio alla Dogana d’Intrada
la Tavolella de Grisolotti instituita dalla sapienza di quest’Ecc(ellentissimo) Mag(istrato);
è commandata da osservarsi con Terminatione delli 2 Ottobre 1728, prima del qual
tempo non distinte dall’abuso le persone alle quali fosse permesso spedire per Fontico
Merci non provenienti dalla Germania, concorevano con arbitrio li Mercanti a questa
Dogana, quall’hora vi ritrovano meno pesante l’aggravio, e di tale provento se bene non
legitimo vedo accresciuto il passato quinquenio.”

Mediterranea – ricerche storiche – Anno XIX – Dicembre 2022
ISSN 1824-3010 (stampa) ISSN 1828-230X (online)