Instruments and Strategies of the Social Support System in Rural Brescia During the Eighteenth Century

The social support system of Brescia represents, in many ways, an exemplary case. Indeed, it was driven by an original perspective of social reform that can be traced back to a substantial harmony among different measures that involved political power, the diocesan Church, and local communities. In the eighteenth century, it was the variegated structure of the charitable-assistance fabric of the parishes that allowed the Brescian territory to cope with the socio-economic problems connected to the progressive pauperization of the population. The commitment of the community acted as a cushion during critical junctures in recurring subsistence crises, helping to limit the spread of explosive convulsions of socio-political rebellion while at the same time laying the foundations for subsequent development. The active role of the communities and the overall reticular structure are thus highlighted as distinctive features of a system destined to last at least until the end of the eighteenth century, until the breakdown of the consolidated balance between emerging needs and demands for innovative reforms.