Page 45 - Mellinato, Giulio, and Aleksander Panjek. Eds. 2022. Complex Gateways. Labour and Urban History of Maritime Port Cities: The Northern Adriaticin a Comparative Perspective. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 45
Assistance to Ships and Cargo Handling in the Early Modern Port of Genoa
in 1797, the annexation to the Napoleonic Empire, and the subsequent
Savoy rule, foreign Porters’ Guilds did not record the same exceptional in-
crease in the number of members as the national guilds.
Table 2.2: Porter Guilds working in the port: number of members from 1797 to
1815
Guilds 1797 1808 1814 1815
Caravana Portofranco 220 220 190 220
Oil 18 18 18 19
Grassini 12 12 12 12
Wine (Darsena) 225 310 310 440
Ponte Reale 115 24 40 74
Mercanzia 80 110 110 210
Coal (Ponte Spinola) 130 104 160 370
Ponte Legna 20 30 33 38
Grains 550 450 450 681
Marinetta 24 28 36 73
San Lazzaro 22 24 22 26
Lanterna 21 21 21 19
San Lazzaro Dogana 16 16 16 16
Total 1367
1453 1418 2918
Source: ASCG, ADGP, 488, 12, Leggi e regolamenti relativi al facchinaggio
Further elements of confrontation and social conflict can also be
found in the showdowns between the oldest guilds and the more recent
ones established in the eighteenth century. The former, with their strong
traditions, could rely on well-established operational areas and monop-
oly positions, while the latter had to fight every day against poorly de-
fined transport rights and limited scopes of operations. In particular, this
was the case for the smaller guilds, such as those working at the quays
Reale, Mercanzia, Legna, Marinetta, Passo Nuovo della Lanterna, and
San Lazzaro. Among the guilds with the oldest traditions were the three
guilds made up of foreigners and the wine porters, all established be-
tween the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. Among the more recently
established guilds, apart from the highly numerous Grain Porters Guild,
and those assigned to the various quays where general cargo was unload-
ed, there was also the Coal Porters Guild. The latter association in par-
ticular was most probably established around the mid-eighteenth cen-
tury (its first certain record dates back to 1770) following the growing
45
in 1797, the annexation to the Napoleonic Empire, and the subsequent
Savoy rule, foreign Porters’ Guilds did not record the same exceptional in-
crease in the number of members as the national guilds.
Table 2.2: Porter Guilds working in the port: number of members from 1797 to
1815
Guilds 1797 1808 1814 1815
Caravana Portofranco 220 220 190 220
Oil 18 18 18 19
Grassini 12 12 12 12
Wine (Darsena) 225 310 310 440
Ponte Reale 115 24 40 74
Mercanzia 80 110 110 210
Coal (Ponte Spinola) 130 104 160 370
Ponte Legna 20 30 33 38
Grains 550 450 450 681
Marinetta 24 28 36 73
San Lazzaro 22 24 22 26
Lanterna 21 21 21 19
San Lazzaro Dogana 16 16 16 16
Total 1367
1453 1418 2918
Source: ASCG, ADGP, 488, 12, Leggi e regolamenti relativi al facchinaggio
Further elements of confrontation and social conflict can also be
found in the showdowns between the oldest guilds and the more recent
ones established in the eighteenth century. The former, with their strong
traditions, could rely on well-established operational areas and monop-
oly positions, while the latter had to fight every day against poorly de-
fined transport rights and limited scopes of operations. In particular, this
was the case for the smaller guilds, such as those working at the quays
Reale, Mercanzia, Legna, Marinetta, Passo Nuovo della Lanterna, and
San Lazzaro. Among the guilds with the oldest traditions were the three
guilds made up of foreigners and the wine porters, all established be-
tween the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. Among the more recently
established guilds, apart from the highly numerous Grain Porters Guild,
and those assigned to the various quays where general cargo was unload-
ed, there was also the Coal Porters Guild. The latter association in par-
ticular was most probably established around the mid-eighteenth cen-
tury (its first certain record dates back to 1770) following the growing
45
