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Working in and for charity institutions: patterns of employment and actors 217

town the Albergo di Santa Croce, renovating a previously-existing
building that belonged to the local confraternity . In his words, the
47
aim of the Albergo was to give shelter to paupers of all ages, and
especially to those who experienced downward mobility. Apart from
Ludovico’s generous endowment, however, the survival of the
Albergo would be ensured by the work of those housed in the
institution, and for this reason he also set up a mill for processing
hemp and cotton thread, and textiles. Using these arguments,
Ludovico petitioned the king in order to obtain some benefits, and
he was granted the right to expose the royal insignia and place his
workers under the royal protection.
Another crucial question concerns how these entrepreneurs,
merchants and artisans entered in contact with the charity
institutions and were able to sign agreements with them. They were
usually experienced individuals and well-connected with the urban
institutions, the royal power and the local guilds. Some
entrepreneurs held high-ranking positions in guilds: the already
cited Boullement, for example, was a master silk-weaver and a guild
officer . Some others were able to bring together activities and
48
economic privileges from different institutions, such as was the
case for the master silk-sock maker Gio Sebastiano Eula. In 1756
he was granted with a privilege for eight years that allowed him to
produce woollen socks and caps and some fiscal exemptions. Some
years later, in July 1761, he was also able to sign an agreement
with the Ospedale di Carità: he rented a workshop within its walls,
committing to train the young people hosted by the institution. In
addition to this, in 1766 he was the recipient of a royal patent: he
obtained a privilege for the duration of ten years for weaving and
selling laces made with white silk and hemp thread - as explained
in his petition, he invented a special technique which allowed him
to use a frame usually used only for making stockings. Finally, his
special relationship with the local power is also confirmed by the
right to display the royal insignia outside his shop .
49
Even if in some cases the economic privileges accorded by the royal
power to the charity institutions clashed with the opinion and
interests of the guilds, as in the case of the Ospizio delle Rosine, often
being a guild member and having a sound reputation facilitated

47 Ast, I sez, Materie religiose, Luoghi pii al di qua dei monti, m. 20, I add.
48 F. A. Duboin, Raccolta cit., tomo 16, vol. 18, libro 9, Lettres Patentes sur requête
de Jean Boullement (…), pp. 828-833.
49 Ibidem, Regie Patenti di concessione di privativa (…), p. 892; Ibid., Lettere patenti
(…), pp. 363-364.

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XVII - Aprile 2020
ISSN 1824-3010 (stampa) ISSN 1828-230X (online)