Gino Luzzatto
Gino Luzzatto, born on January 9, 1878, in
Padua and deceased on March 30, 1964, in
Venice, was an Italian
economic historian. He initially worked as a teacher in southern Italy before joining an economic institute in
Trieste and later relocated to the
University of Venice in 1922, where he eventually became a
rector. Luzzatto became a member of the
Socialist Party in 1906. However, with the rise of
Mussolini's fascists, he faced challenges in publishing his work. He was imprisoned for several months in 1925, and despite his protests, he was compelled to retire in 1938 due to the establishment of
Italian racial laws. Luzzatto was from a Jewish household. After the end of the war, he became rector again and led the institute until 1953.
Under the initial influence of
Werner Sombart, whose main work he translated, Gino Luzzatto's scientific pursuits gradually shifted towards the study of urban economies, particularly focusing on the
late Middle Ages, with
Venice being his primary area of interest. His research shed light on the growing influence of merchants over ruling authorities and the manorial aspects of the economy. In the process, he became one of the best experts on the holdings of the
Venetian State Archives, which he visited almost daily from 1922 to 1964.
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