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Abstract:  This article focuses on the nature of the economic privileges granted in the territories of the house of Savoy, and especially in Turin, from 1680 until 1799, and on the relationship between the former, the guilds and the charity institutions. The paper shows that the decision process for granting the privileges was mostly based on the advices of the Consolato di Commercio and of the Consiglio di Commercio, while the guilds were required to check the quality of products manufactured by beneficiaries of privileges. Secondly, the analysis offers evidence that beneficiaries were people well rooted in the social and economic context. Indeed, even if born in a foreigner country and juridically not subject of the king, they were well-known merchants of artisans, masters of members of the guilds, and they had been living for several years in the kingdom.

Keywords: Privileges; Patents; Silk; Guilds; Charity Institutions