Early Modern Venetian Sex Work and the Business of Gambling

AbstractBy the sixteenth century, the ever-growing popularity of casini and ridotti in cities such as Venice resulted in the widespread pursuit of women’s gambling. This article argues that female card play, an activity of skill as well as chance and risk, offered women financial opportunities at a time when they were excluded from most “honorable” forms of income-generating work. They included female sex workers who benefited from the game’s popularity among men of all classes, by luring unsuspecting men into fixed card play. Through close readings of visual and textual representations of these types of gaming practices in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Venice, I consider how they not only shed light on the operations of a moralizing social technology reinforcing class and gender asymmetries but also, when read against the grain, illuminate a new kind of economic independence of women as actors and workers overlooked by scholars.Keywords: cortigianemeretriceworkgamblingVenice Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 There is a complete set at the Castello Sforzesco, Civica Raccolta delle Stampe “Achille Bertarelli,” Milano (Stampe Popolari Profane, m F-9). Engraved plates, 6.69 × 8.07 in. (17 × 20.5 cm.). Additional copies are in the New York Public Library, Print Collection of the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs and the University of Chicago Library’s Special Collections: Rare Books. The NYPL and Chicago Library reproductions are twelve leaves of engraved plates, illustrated, 7.09 × 9.06 in. (18 × 23 cm.).2 “The wretch passes from the traps to the game/ And he loses a great sum of money/ Then I hear the moneybox, already empty/ sing the echo, in bitter tones, of the unfortunate.”3 For information and interpretations of Venetian clothing in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries see Vecellio (Citation1590), Belfanti (Citation2009), Jones and Stallybrass (Citation2000), and Paulicelli and Clark (Citation2008).4 “Trappolare: fooling with (a deceptive) appearance or demonstration of [something] beneficial as happens to the mouse with the trap.”5 In Venetian dialect the verb takes the form of trapolár. “[D]ell’ingannare altrui con alcuna apparenza o dimostrazione di bene.”6 David Kunzle’s interpretation of the text and image is that the rake is “lured by the gambling table, where the usual combination of the male opponent and female companion strips him of his money” (Kunzle Citation1973, 282). Hilde Kurz’s erroneous translation and interpretation of the image and quatrain are traced back to her misreading of a scene in Hogarth’s much later Rake’s Progress, which she uses to analyze the earlier Italian print but in which there is no evident gaming despite her claims. When it comes to the Lascivo print she has one of the two women caressing the rake while the other obtains his money, which patently does not take place although it does appear that theft figures in Hogarth’s image. She does, however, say that the game goes against the rake, and that his adversary’s purse is full, while “in his [own] ears echoes the void in his coffers.” It merits noting that she does not see the women as engaging in work (Kurz Citation1952, 158). Tessa Storey’s paraphrase of the quatrain is that the rake “starts gambling, (and) is jilted by the courtesan” (Storey Citation2008, 52). And Sara Matthews-Grieco discusses the use of moralizing broadsheets and prints in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as constructs of social identity. In large part, these printed items spread the more successful themes of the period pertaining to sex work, including the downfall of women (Matthews-Grieco Citation1997, 61–87).7 For discussions of the shift from feudalism to mercantilism and its impact specifically on women’s work in early modern Italy, see Brown (Citation1986, 206–226); Wiesner-Hanks, (Citation2008, 7–24); Kelly (Citation1984); and Chojnacka (Citation2001).8 Cohen (Citation1991, 201) states that the church and government in the sixteenth century thought of “prostitutes” as a “moral cancer” on society. Storey (Citation2008, 4) says, “prostitution was a ‘canker,’ a symptom of moral degeneracy which could spread like a disease throughout society,” citing de Boer (Citation1981). However, de Boer does not provide a citation or primary source for his text. These statements, however, are in reference to Rome and not Venice.9 The Consiglio dei Dieci (Council of Ten) was one of the major governing bodies in Venice, founded in July of 1310 with the appointment of ten “wise” patricians as “servants” to the city with the power to implement retribution on nobles, such as banishment and capital punishment. They enacted sumptuary laws in the 1490s to regulate consumption, which severely impacted the lavish styles and activities of the city’s cortigiane.10 While laws in cities like Venice, Rome, and Florence were set to restrict the sex worker’s movement within defined spaces, they were often ignored. This was most prevalent in Venice, where the courtesans dressed and appeared as if they were noblewomen, thereby granting them access to previously unknown social spaces. For a discussion on the defined spaces set up for sex workers in Rome, see Cohen (Citation1991, 205-207), and in Venice, see Romano (Citation1989, 345).11 “[…] prohibito publiche meretrici . ne meno andar in qualsivoglia habito alle feste, o Mezze di persone nobile, et di honesta vita, ovvero alle feste, balli di villa, nelle chiese, et al.le fiere, et al.tri luoghi publici della citta terre…non vietato il permettere che nelle sue case siano fatti giochi di carte, dadi, ne altro, in pena contra facendo in tutto, ó in parte a quanto e predetto di anni cinque di prigione, di più d’essa le tagliato il naso, et le orecchie fra le due collone di S. Marco per il Ministro di giustitia, overó poste in Berlina, et frastate da San Marco, a Rialto.”12 Inquisitori di Stato (or the Venetian Holy Inquisition) became an institutional element within the Catholic Church, whose responsibility was to snuff out heretical acts and behaviors and put those found guilty on trial. There are countless records of interviews, accusations, and the like that ultimately did not lead to any resolution.13 For a comprehensive text on the life of Veronica Franco, see Rosenthal (Citation1993).14 The Sant’Uffizio (Holy Office) was another name for L’Inquisizione romana in 1542, in which a council of cardinals and other ecclesiastics investigated accusations of people living blasphemously and threatening the Christian faith. Their main goal was to bring “heretics” back to the Church and eradicate sin and evil.15 “Moreover, she hosts ridotti for prohibited games with cards, and uses them with as much diligence as possible and knows how to win against many cowardly men in all sorts of games, and when she has won the money, she tips those present, so that her rogues [partners] are not publicized.… in the two and a half months that I lived in her house, she has never gone to hear Mass, but always attends to her games and other dishonest and illicit business with various men and her lovers…. But I adjure you, and beg you that you must punish her in accordance to your duty as she deserves, so that she does not further infect this city, as I believe (Venice) will incur great danger.” This is my translation; however, part of the passage is included in Ruggiero (Citation2007, 48n18) and Rosenthal (Citation1993, 17–18). The term buonamano (bonomano) is an obsolete northern Italian phrase meaning to tip or reward a sum of money. This definition comes from Florio’s (Citation1611) Italian/English dictionary.16 “Per haver di più per la pratica, che tenea già molti anni con Margarita Francese cortigiana havuto a male, che in casa di lei praticava Corrado todesco… Per haver anco giocando alle carte in diversi luoghi privati, & remoti, serrandosi anco nelle camere, & ove non erano lasciati intervenire altri; giocando anco delle volte da solo á solo, senza intervento d’altri; fraudolentemente, & con modi illeciti guadagnato á diversi giovani nobili, & altri, grossissime summe di molti migliara de ducati.”17 Angela “La Zaffetta” is, unfortunately, best known for a poem titled La Zaffetta (1531) written by one of her wealthy and respected clients in Venice, Lorenzo Venier. The poem tells the story of Angela experiencing trentuno, or gang rape over the course of an entire day. It is still unclear whether the occurrences in the poem were authentic but either way, the graphic story was published, distributed, and sung about in front of Angela’s window and intended as a warning to courtesans to be thankful for any attention and money they received from men. For discussions on Venier’s La Zaffetta and Aretino’s mention of a similar practice in his La cortigiana, see Quaintance (Citation2015, 41–49); Rosenthal (Citation1993, 37–41); and Mantioni (Citation2019, 17–37).18 Lawner (Citation1987, 68) argues that Nanna and Antonia were “almost surely real persons,” as their names appear on the 1527 Roman census. Nanna is listed as a daughter of a Roman courtesan who encouraged her daughter to also become a sex worker after she tried living as a nun and a wife. This is exactly what Nanna and Antonia discuss throughout the Ragionamento.19 “Oh, how much money I earned by swindling this man and that! Many men often used to dine in my house, and after dinner the cards would appear on the table. “Come on,” I would say, “let us play for two julios’ worth of candy. The man who gets the King of Cups will have to pay.” When the candies were lost and paid for, those who had cards in their hands could no more stop playing than a whore can stop screwing. So, they pulled out their money and began gambling in earnest. Then two of my shills walked in, men who looked like simpletons, and they let themselves be coaxed for a while and finally picked up the cards that were phonier than gold coins minted with lead; and then, still acting like dullards, they pocketed all the guests’ money. All the while I was telling them by dumb show what cards the others held in their hands, for I didn’t put much faith in the fake cards.”20 “…but the whore violates neither her monastery nor her husband; indeed, she acts like the soldier who is paid to do evil, and when doing it, she does not realize that she is, for her shop sells what it has to sell. The first day a tavernkeeper opens his tavern, he does not have to put up a sign, for everyone knows that there one drinks, one eats, one gambles, one screws, betrays, and cheats, and anyone who would go there to say his prayers or start a fast would find neither alters nor Lent.”21 The Esecutori contro la Bestemmia (Executors against blasphemy) were part of the Venetian judicial system created in 1537. The Esecutori contro la Bestemmia consisted of magistrates in Venice who prosecuted crimes pertaining to religion and blasphemy. They also supervised taverns, ridotti, and casini. To ensure order, the magistrates placed two (then four) regional “managers” in charge of the six sestieri of Venice, who were tasked with reporting illegal behaviors.22 In some cases, noblewomen could enter if they were escorted by a nobleman.23 “(.) voler risolutamente, che per gradi sia frenato il vivere troppo libero e licenzioso delle femmine nostre,” and “provido, e necessario fine, che non solo non progredisca, ma si freni, […] una deambulazione notturna praticata persino nelle ove avanzatissime della notte per tutte le pubbliche strade di questa Dominante non meno dale femmine nostre ma dagli uomini ancora…”24 Bassetta was a game of chance with the potential for major monetary loss. An excellent example of bassetta is in Centlivre ([1705] Citation2009) The Basset Table, which features a young woman who holds bassetta games within her home to earn an extra income. The woman, Lady Reveller, plays the role of the banker and “runs the table” throughout the games.25 “(.) stato proibito di tene gioco nella bottega da caffè sotto le Procuratie nove alla insegna dell’Alto Mar che presentemente tiene l’insegna della vera fedeltà. In detta Bottega tutta la notte il gioco alla bassetta e vecchietta Zamaria Zanetti patron di bottega bara i besi alla gente con le carte unito con Domenico Fontebase essendo li medesimi, franchi bari da carte, e più biastematori baruffanti il detto Zamaria da ancho riceto a publiche meretrici con grave scandalo delle persone tutte che pratica in detta bottega che si può dire un vero miracolo di ogni infamia…”26 “A S. Cassan in calle dei Botteri sopra le scale dell’osteria della Seta abita… Don Carlo Rovari Sacerdote . scacciato mesi sono dal Quartier di Monsignor Nuncio Apostolico perché ivi convivesse scandalosamente con pubblica meretrice e unitamente faceva camera locante e teneva gioco di carte dando ricetto anzi introduceva in propria casa dei Bari di Carte acciò baratassero la gente e suoi amici bari di carte.”27 Translation of Mangia Maroni found in Cozzi (Citation1997, sec. 3.16).28 “Il sacerdote Aganá vive sopra la vita di Cattina Piasentina. Questi due erano li suoi Mangia Maroni. Aganá col Volto levato sopra la faccia fa Bordello nel Pubblico Redotto con Meretrice con un gran scandalo, fa da N.U. sempre subia … quando li capita le occasioni si unisce con. Donne assieme con altro Ferigo Tadie si porta con Foresti, ó altri all’Ostaria é il Barano li soldi cioé taglia alla Baseta…”29 “(….) in una casa grande con sua Madre.giocar alla Basetta tutte notta, ove capitavano persone vili d’ogni sorte, tendendo Biscazia da circa un anno.Dice che nella scena sua casa una camera tenessi un truco á comodo di che volevano giocare, e che impuramente in detto luoco dove Biscazia di basetta sue capitavani persone barare á giocar tutta la notta e che per ciò ipso sucedevano copiose per il gioco, essendo da circa un anno che fai detto mestiere, e che vivi con la Biscazia e dice che sei un barare.il di giorno che di notte ad ogni condizion di persone, che frequentemente capitavano a tutte l‘ove espezialmente la notte, con insorgenza di risse, e cantasse con parole licentiose.”30 I used different pages of the archival documents to calculate the number of casini.31 “Fra tanti Casini che si ritrovano in Calle del Riddotto quello della N.D. Lucrezia Nani, e il più famoso in materia di Bagordi…”32 The actual text from the archival document is: “Nobil Donna Padrona del sua Casino a imposto a Francesco Passini ed Antonio Desteffani, qualli sono intrinsici amici della Nobil Donna sua che procurino di Condure qualche Cavagliere, forestiere, o di terra ferma alla sua conversatione per Maggiormente star alegramente e gioccare vi praticano in detto luogo molte Maschere…” However, Dolcetti includes the following in his work, “Francesco Pasini ed Antonio De Stefani, mezzani di professione e barattieri provetti, erano gli amici intimi della Nobil Donna Lucrezia Nani, padrona di un famosissimo Casino in Calle del Ridotto. Essi avevano la missione di condurre qualche Cavagliere forestiere alla sua conversazione per… giuocare.”Additional informationNotes on contributorsNicole WagnerNicole Wagner received her PhD in Art History from the University at Binghamton in 2021. Her research interests are interdisciplinary in nature, centering on early modern paintings, playing cards as material culture, and the lives and representations of those commonly accused of defying social norms and institutional regulations. Nicole’s work uses theoretical concepts and methodological practices drawn from social history and informed by anthropological and feminist methods. Using archival research obtained through the Renaissance Society of America-Kress Beinecke Library Research Fellowship and the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation Grant, Nicole is currently working on additional publications that examine female card play in fifteenth-century Italy and the boat as a heterotopic space used by noblewomen in cities such as Ferrara and Mantua. Correspondence to Nicole Wagner. Email: nlynwagner2482@gmail.com