Exploring women’s work in early modern rural Italy: Insights from the Republic of Venice

Abstract This article examines women’s work in rural areas of the Republic of Venice between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with a focus on the district of Padua. By applying the verb-oriented method to judicial sources, it reconstructs a detailed and nuanced picture of female labour, highlighting the extent and continuity of women’s economic activities. The findings show that women were engaged across all sectors of the economy, including sectors far beyond care and housework. They played an active role in agriculture, trade, and manufacturing. Moreover, their work was fully integrated into the household economy, structured around seasonal labour demands, and performed throughout the year. A comparison with previous studies suggests that women’s work in the Venetian countryside aligned closely with broader European patterns. These findings underscore the fundamental contribution of female labour to household survival, challenging long-standing assumptions about women’s economic roles in Italy and the Mediterranean.