The Silk Industry of Renaissance Venice. By Luca Molà. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. Pp. xix, 457. $48.00.

Extract

Unlike other components of the Renaissance Venetian economy, such as maritime trade, shipbuilding, glassmaking, and the woolen industry, the silk industry has been largely neglected by historians: a somewhat puzzling neglect, for that industry was viewed by contemporaries as a major player in the economy, enjoyed an enviable international reputation, and employed at its peak a highly skilled labor force of several thousands. In this richly textured, exhaustive study covering three centuries and based on a prodigious amount of archival research, Luca Molà has filled a large gap and has thus greatly expanded our knowledge of a multifaceted Renaissance economy.