• commercio
• cross-cultural trade
• economia
• economy
• history
• medieval
• medieval economy
• medio evo
• Mediterranean
• mercanti
• merchants
• Middle Ages
• storia
• storia economica
• storia mediterranea
• trade

The topic of this research is the the study of Venetian commercial networks in the light of Mediterranean history, the conceptualization of trade networks, commercial history and the economic history of Venice. Drawing on largely unpublished material, the research will analyse the intricate links of Venetian commerce throughout the Mediterranean, using extensive post mortem dossiers of 14th century merchants, which makes it possible to take into account both the personal, economical and social implications of their biographies and the complex commercial entanglement between Venetian, Christian, and non-Christian merchants.
The topic is particularly significant since it allows a comprehensive evaluation of the volume of Venetian trade, of the commercial strategies of the Serenissima, as opposed to those of other polities (such as Genoa or Tuscany) and moreover because of the opportunity to analyse how social, intellectual, and economical boundaries were crossed in the trading places of the Mediterranean and how far the notion of cross-cultural interactions may be proven valid.