Indice dei fascicoli

Abstract: The aim of this article is to outline, through analysis of archival documents, the changes in the production process of the biscuit in Venice in XVIIth and XVIIIth century. These changes started with the outbreak of the war of Morea (1684-1699) and developed during the XVIIIth century. Until now scholars have mainly considered the biscuit as food for the army and the fleet so they have also studied the nutritional quality of biscuit. Anyway in the XVIIth century the commitment of Venice in the wars against the Ottoman Empire has been growing steadily, and the political choice of neutrality, in the following century, forced to produce large quantities of biscuit. Therefore the biscuit was certainly used as food for the army and the fleet, but it is also true that a requirement of 4.700 tonnes per year needed huge resources and considerable organization to follow the production: the arrival of wheat in the city, its transformation in flour, the baking system of the biscuit, the storage in special warehouses until its shipment. Finally biscuit is not just food for the army, but it plays an important role in the political economy of Venice.