Page 16 - Upland Families, Elites and Communities

Giulio Ongaro and Edoardo Demo

Figure 1.1 Territory of Vicenza, Atlas Van der Hagen, 1624
Notes Schio is circled; adapted from Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia
.org/wiki/File:Atlas_Van_der_Hagen-KW1049B12_069-TERRITORIO_DI_VICENZA.jpeg)

the inhabitants of Schio frequently asked to be ruled by a Venetian podestà,
like the Vicentine cities of Lonigo and Marostica. Besides the political im-
plications of being a vicariato, the failure of the petitions to be considered
a podesteria (i.e. a city, a title that Schio achieved only in 1817) meant asso-
ciated limitations and subordination to Vicenza in jurisdictional and eco-
nomic terms. The words used by the Captain of Vicenza, Francesco Michiel,
in 1621 are quite suggestive about the importance of being considered a
city. Indeed, referring to Schio he wrote: ‘the most relevant people [of
Schio] are respectable people, with virtuous qualities and urban habits,
and they do not forget to demonstrate to the public official how much they
want to be considered as such’ (Istituto di Storia Economica 1976, 270). Fo-
cusing on textile manufacturing, being a vicariato meant it was impossible
to produce high quality clothes (the so-called panni alti)until 1701, when

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