{"id":666,"date":"2026-02-27T15:14:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T15:14:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanrocco.e-terna.it\/institution\/the-venetian-scuole\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T12:54:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T12:54:35","slug":"the-venetian-scuole","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.scuolagrandesanrocco.org\/en\/institution\/the-venetian-scuole\/","title":{"rendered":"The Venetian Scuole"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Venetian Scuole<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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In the second half of the 13th century, numerous lay confraternities were set up in central-northern Italy. They met in the name of Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a patron saint, for religious worship or mutual aid purposes. In Venice, these confraternities\u00a0were called\u00a0Scuole<\/em><\/strong>. Their members came from the middle classes, i.e. the non-patrician class of citizens who resided in the city and worked in the trades and professions, in many cases with considerable economic success. Being excluded from the oligarchic government of the Republic, they could in this way nonetheless play a prestigious role in Venetian society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noblemen could also be members but not perform governing roles. Until the Republic fell, the\u00a0Scuole<\/em>\u00a0played an important part in the religious life and charitable works of the town, organising what amounted to a fully-fledged\u00a0welfare system<\/strong>, which was initially for members only, but was gradually extended to the whole population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the beginning of the 15th<\/sup>\u00a0century there were\u00a0various types of\u00a0Scuola<\/em>\u00a0in Venice<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n