Il controllo della navigazione mantovana (secolo XVIII)

This study, based on archival research, examines the state and local institutions and men charged with policing the river navigation in the ancient Duchy of Mantua under Habsbourg rule in Lombardy (18th century). Mantua borders were on Venetia, on the Duchies of Parma and Modena, and on Papal States. The guilds of water transport workers – pilots and navaroli – were enlisted in special bodies and submitted to new regulations. Police forces and custom officers aimed to prevent foreign boatmen and smugglers from exporting corn (or others goods) without paying duties. The main patrol boat was a sort of galiot with small cannons, located in Viadana, along the Po river. The boat’s crew consisted of one captain, one lieutenant, 6 to 10 soldiers and 12 to 18 oarsmen, sort of gallery slaves, condemned by criminal judges.