Page 96 - Upland Families, Elites and Communities

Matteo Di Tullio and Claudio Lorenzini

ing again to Lorenzo Cos from Mena and another of his sons, Giovanni
Battista, who from April 1753 until January 1757 repeatedly received wine,
walnuts, apples, and meat (veal, beef), while the Billiani purchased from
them quantities of meat (mutton, goat, cow, sheep), received a bull to fer-
tilize their cows, and availed themselves of support activities for agricul-
tural production, such as shoeing horses(asu, ab,b.5, h, c. 10).This ex-
change leaves us to understand that for many of the people employed or
involved in the trades and agricultural activity of the Billiani, there was
also an activity of their own for which there were margins of production
for the market, however circumscribed that might have been among the
family businesses of Somplago and neighbouring villages.
As these examples make clear, the work commissioned by the Billiani in-
volved both men and women, with tasks more often distinct than assimil-
able. One can recognize a certain specialization for women in the prepara-
tion of yarns. Just one example: between September 1715 and April 1720,
Margherita, widow of Giovanni Battista d’Anna from Cavazzo, in addition
to receiving quantities of maize, gave one of her cows to the Billiani so they
could take it up to the high pasture. In return, in addition to delivering a
calf,akidand beans,she spun hemp andtow yarns(asu, ab,b.4, d,cc.
41v–2r).
To give an approximate indication of the number of work and business
ties the Billiani entertained over time, and the weight of women held in
these books of accounts, we have compiled table 3.1. First, each year on
average the Billiani maintained relationships with a minimum of 5 and a
maximum of 18 other ‘firms’ (ditte). The number of men clearly predom-
inates, but the presence of women is significant, and their numbers in-
crease significantly from the 1760s onward. Obviously, their presence does
not end with these numbers: in several cases, even in accounts relating to
a man, women related to him (wives, mothers, daughters) who worked,
consumed, and purchased at the same time, are mentioned. This aspect
is particularly relevant, as it shows how women could also be included in
the trade and monetary exchanges between these groups (Di Tullio and
Lorenzini, forthcoming). However, it is necessary to specify that women
often appear with the appellation of widows, or as heirs, as if to imply that
their husband’s or father’s business continued through their efforts pend-
ing transmission to their male children.
The entries in the account books concerning women do not differ from
those ofmen in terms of‘giving’ asmuch asinterms of ‘having,’thatis,
how these women managed to satisfy their debts to the Billiani. With re-

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