Nicola Carotenuto

I am a DPhil student at the University of Oxford. I studied and graduated at the University of Pisa both at BA and MA level with dissertations about the relationship between Pisa and Venice and the economy of the Venetian Trecento. At the same time, I was a student at the Scuola Normale Superiore and an exchange student at the École Normale Supérieure (Paris). My research interests focus mainly on the reconstruction of the commercial networks of 14th century Venice, using unpublished sources. The conceptual framework will be constituted by Mediterranean history, cross-cultural trade, diaspora studies and network theory. A thorough examination of post mortem dossier regarding medieval Venetian merchants will enable an holistic analysis of the different trading places of the Mediterranean, focusing on how Venetian communities abroad perceived themselves and on the networks among the member of such communities and the interactions between traders and foreign polities. This analysis will also highlight the importance played by small and medium-sized traders, underlining how crucial cabotage, the transport of bulk commodities and round ships were for the Venetian polity in the Trecento. I will pursue my research thanks to the generosity of the AHRC, the Clarendon fund and the Scatcherd scholarship.