«Un giuoco così utile ai pubblici introiti»
Il lotto di Genova dal XVI al XVIII secolo
by Giovanni Assereto
cover prize 20 euros
Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche-Viella
Treviso-Rome 2013
136 pages
ISBN 978-88-6728-046-9
(Ludica, 12)
In 1576 the so-called Leges novae, the legislative measures that were to regulate the institutions of the Republic of Genoa until 1797, ordained that twice a year the names of the five patricians who would replace the five retiring members of the Serenissimi Collegi, highest-ranking organ of government, were to be drawn by lot.
According to well-established tradition in Italy and in the rest of Europe the occasion offered an excellent opportunity for betting on the outcome; but in the case of Genoa the procedure soon took an unusual form. An organization was set up to provide systematic management of the wagers, and the way it chose to administer the practice constituted the first model of the game of lotto.
After a period of semi-clandestine control, in 1644 the Republic decided to make the game legal and contract its management out to the highest bidder. From then on the popularity of the Genoese lottery grew constantly in Genoa and in the rest of Italy; and the revenues accruing to the State rose continually too, as the game attracted investments from the leading patrician families.
As time went on there were attempts in Rome, Naples, Venice, Turin and in other cities – albeit often accompanied by moral scruples and concerns – to copy the organization of the game so as to generate similar public and private profits. In the long run, however, the Ligurian monopoly was destined to dwindle and disappear, especially as the game spread into other European countries.
Though the Genoese origins of lotto have long been known, this book uses the results of new documentary and archival research to examine for the first time the earliest mechanisms of the game, how contracts to run it were awarded, the plans to reproduce its success outside Genoa and the economic and institutional consequences it gave rise to, some of which were decidedly curious and unexpected.
Contents
Premise, 7
I. Un atto di nascita insieme certo e confuso, 9
II. Dalla proibizione allo sfruttamento, 23
III. Le regole del gioco, 35
IV. Un prodotto d’esportazione, 55
V. I genovesi e i «lotti forastieri», 73
VI. La concorrenza interna, l’evoluzione del gioco, gli anni di crisi e di ripresa, 97
Abbreviations, 121
Bibliography, 123
Index of names and places, 127