Political participation and ordinary politicization in Renaissance Venice. Was the popolo a political actor?

This chapter explores the forms of popular politics in Renaissance Venice, considering two important characteristics of the history of the Serenissima: the popolo’s lack of any real political representation, and the absence of major popular rebellions or revolts. The aim of the chapter is to analyze other forms of political action, aside from these two elements, defining politics as what concerns a community and as actions dependent on collective decisions that aim to defend collective interests. The absence of major uprisings and political upheavals in Venice did not mean that the people were inactive or entirely excluded from the political sphere. On the contrary, as the chapter shows, ordinary people contributed to political order in other ways, without necessarily resisting or destroying it. Peaceful forms of political participation involved the popolani, who could engage in political actions even though they did not have formal power.