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624 Magnus Ressel

of its cherished community of German merchants in the Fondaco dei
Tedeschi. In a print from 1672, published in Cologne, it was explicitly
stated with regard to its toll revenues that «hoggi trovandosi molto
decaduti li negotij, il scutto non è molto» . The German merchants in
31
Venice, however, had good contacts within the government and could
recommend themselves as the best partners for the Republic to rean-
imate the trade via the Alps.
This group, the Nazione Alemana was a very old corporation in
Venice, the existence of which dated back at least to the first half
of the 13 century; maybe even further . Roughly speaking, this
th
32
group had received in the Middle Ages the “privilege” that the Vene-
tians did not trade in Germany themselves, but that, in exchange
for this, the German merchants in Venice were prohibited to engage
in any maritime trade. This was formally achieved via the explicit
limitation of any trade to and from Germany to the Fondaco, which
also served as a customs house. Only the Germans and some other
subjects from the Emperor, most notably his subjects from Tyrol
and the Trentino – mostly called Grisolotti – could trade here . From
33
the early 16 century onwards, the privileges of the Germans had
th
been extended, as the Portuguese had delivered more and more
spices to the European market and had thus undermined a pillar
of Venetian commercial standing within Europe. The privileges ac-
cumulated over the following one and a half centuries can be
summed up for the mid-17 century as follows:
th
1. The treatment in customs procedures was favourable; the users
could pay later and were less controlled
2. They had storage and rooms in the Fondaco dei Tedeschi at
cheap prices
3. They were exempted from specific taxes
4. They got a discount of 10 % for the tolls they had to pay for im-
ported as well as exported goods
Furthermore, the old prohibition to engage in maritime trade was
lifted gradually. In 1582, the Germans acquired permission to conduct
maritime trade, with the exception of within the Levant. This limitation

31 O.V., Relatione della città e repubblica Venetia […], Appresso Pietro del Martello,
Cologne 1672.
32 On the origins of this corporation, see: K.-E. Lupprian, Il Fondaco dei Tedeschi e
la sua funzione di controllo del commercio tedesco a Venezia, Centro Tedesco di Studi
Veneziani, Venice, 1978.
33 On the German merchants in Venice and their privileges as well as many other
aspects, see still: H. Simonsfeld, Der Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venedig und die deutsch-
venetianischen Handelsbeziehungen, Vol. 2, Cotta, Stuttgart, 1887. On the Grisolotti in
particular, see: p. 137.

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