The Revolt of Snowballs
Murano Confronts Venice, 1511
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Book Description
The Revolt of Snowballs unpicks a rare and turbulent event which occurred in 1511 and investigates the meaning behind it. On January 27, 1511, the island of Murano was the scene of an exceptional event during which the representative of Venice, exercising power in the island on behalf of the Serenissima, was hunted by the inhabitants under a shower of snowballs and the sound of a hostile clamour. This book uses microhistory techniques to examine the trial records of the incident and explores the lives of the Murano’s inhabitants at its heart.
The book begins by providing a detailed introduction to life in Murano during the sixteenth century, including its political framework and the relationship it shared with Venice. Against this context, the political skills of Murano’s inhabitants are considered and key questions regarding political action are posed, including why and how people chose to protest, what sense of justice drove their actions, and what form those actions took. The latter half of the book charts the events that followed the revolt of snowballs, including the inquest and its impact on Murano’s society.
By putting Murano under the microscope, The Revolt of Snowballs provides a window into the cultural and political world of early modern Italy, and is essential reading for historians of revolt and microhistory more broadly.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1. The Island of Murano
Glass and Gardens
Glassworkers and Fishermen
Insularity and Community
From Murano to Venice: the traghetto
Chapter 2. Murano’s Political Community and Venice
The Political Space of the Lagoon
A community of risk
A Shared Fragile Space
The law of the podestà
Citizens and Muranesi officials
The Participation of the People
Chapter 3. A Tottering Ritual
Ritual Politics
The Theatre of Society
Chase off this dog who has ruined Muran!
Chapter 4. The Revolt in its Time
Italy at War
Noise of Conflict
The Great Cold
"Semel in anno licet insanire". Once a year it is permissible to get crazy
Vitale Vitturi
Chapter 5. The Sense of Justice
Justice
Law
Coercion
Tribunal
Chapter 6. The Accused
Before the judges
Antonio Malcanton, public crier
Scandal
Chapter 7. Political Actions, Political Intentions
The appropriation of ritual
The performance of the revolt
Making politics
Political acknowledgment and juridical status
To Vote and Elect
Chapter 8. The Trial. A Test of Truth and Persons
Reconstructing the truths
Denunciations
"Io sum per neve". "I am there for the snow". On justification
Return to Murano
After the revolt
Conclusion
Author(s)
Biography
Claire Judde de Larivière is Senior Lecturer at the University of Toulouse and honorary research fellow at Birkbeck, University of London. Her previous works include Naviguer, commercer, gouverner. Économie maritime et pouvoirs à Venise (XVe-XVIe siècles), 2008; "‘Le peuple est la cité’. L’idée de popolo et la condition des popolani à Venise (XVe-XVIe siècle)", Annales HSS, 2013/4 (with Rosa M. Salzberg); and, ‘The Urban Culture of the Ordinary People. Space and Identity in Renaissance Venice (fifteenth-sixteenth Centuries)’, Medieval Urban Culture, ed. by Andrew Brown and Jan Dumolyn, Turnhout, 2017.
Reviews
'For a thousand years, the Republic of Venice experienced no regime change and only modest social and political strife when compared to the upheavals that erupted across Europe. The Revolt of Snowballs interrogates the meaning of a rare outburst of popular discontent against Venetian political authorities. This excellent translation will allow English-language readers to appreciate an engaging and informative analysis of a singular episode in the history of Renaissance Venice.'
Francesca Trivellato, Yale University, USA
'Both a vivid reconstruction of an event, and a sparkling analysis of society and politics, The Revolt of the Snowballs reminds us of the power of microhistory. The book contributes profoundly to our understanding of pre-modern politics and revolt, of what counted as politics from different contemporary perspectives, and of what we might call a social history of political ideas. It is a great achievement, and a gripping read.'
John H. Arnold, University of Cambridge, UK