ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the role of cities in applying technological innovations by focusing on the role of institutions and institutional levels, power relationships and product types. It focuses on the demand and product changes the evolution of consumption patterns and the creation of 'ready-made' fashions. The chapter compares results with the existing research, focuses on the interplay between different urban institutions in the introduction of new technologies. It takes into account the relationships between city and countryside and the often positive role of some small cities in disseminating new products and techniques. The chapter shows between the sixteenth and the eighteenth centuries, Padua's textile manufacturers modified their product range by including low, medium and high-quality cloth and ribbons, and they combined market trends with the local supply of raw materials. With the introduction of the ribbon engine loom, revenues would have been distributed over a limited number of merchants. In 1537, the emigration of silk weavers from Venice was forbidden.
