War of the Fists: Popular Culture and Public Violence in Late Renaissance Venice

The War of the Fists explores early modern Venetian society through the lens of the mock battles for control of bridges which involved all classes, but especially the city's more marginal workers. It employs four different topical approaches: the social geography of Venetian factionalism; the structure of combat itself; the festive world which grew up around the encounters, providing workers with an alternative society of their own; and the response of the Venetian patriciate, government and pol…