ABSTRACT
According to the Austrian statesman Metternich, 'Italy is a geographic expression, and you will find it only on paper.' It is difficult to talk about Italy in its entirety, especially for the period preceding the unification of the country in 1861. Therefore, as a matter of necessity our analysis will concentrate on the north of the country and will draw mostly on evidence from localities in its north-eastern regions. Our analysis does not aim to be comprehensive or to survey a wide historiography, which would stretch well beyond the remit of the project as a whole. We aim instead to provide some insights into the relationship between labour (a wide label that includes the social and economic organization of production, human capital, gender relations, technology and so on) and textile manufacturing for the extended period between the mid-seventeenth century and the present.
