Women and Monasticism in Venice in the tenth to twelfth centuries

The paper analyses some features of the Venetian female monasticism during the high Middle Ages highlighting, on the one hand, how long and variegated were processes of formation of important praying communities in the religious life of the city and, on the other hand, the relevance of the social, political and economic dimensions. In particular, it focuses on the presumed uniqueness of Venice in comparison with other contemporary religious movements. By showing the partaking of a large number of Venetians in the most significant religious movements, it demonstrates, as a main finding, that the profound renewal in the Benedictine monasticism, and particularly in the female religious life of the Eleventh and the Thirteen centuries, was apparent in the Duchy too, even in original and informal ways.