La formazione di un'aristocrazia: monache e monasteri femminili a Venezia tra IX e XIII secolo

This paper examines the processes that shaped the identity of the Venetian aristocracy from the 9th to the 13th centuries and the role played by the relationship between patrician families and some female monasteries. The important female monastery of San Zaccaria and some other nunneries created in the lagoon between the 12th and the 13th centuries are taken into account in the analysis of the formation of Venetian aristocracy from this innovative perspective. By analysing the behaviour of the aristocratic families towards these nunneries, the paper points out how Venetian ruling groups made use of the long-term relationship with nuns as a particularly useful instrument of political competition. The article also shows how some female monasteries were relevant social actors in the process of definition of Venetian identity, largely coinciding with their own ruling groups, and in particular with the aristocracy, and with the exercise of power.