Merchants, usurers and harlots: Genoa in early modern English drama

Abstract

The portrayal of Italy in early modern English drama has enjoyed ample and diversified scholarly treatment, especially as regards Rome, Venice, Naples, Milan, Florence, Padua and Verona as settings for William Shakespeare's plays. Admittedly, Genoa does not readily come to mind when discussing the presence of Italy in Elizabethan, Jacobean and Caroline drama. Yet, its presence in the drama of the period is far more tangible than commonly assumed. After identifying written sources and mapping out references and allusions to Genoa in the dramatic writings of the period, this article identifies and discusses for the first time usury and prostitution as core themes specifically associated with the dramatic portrayals of Genoa, and examines the engagement of such portrayals with urgent social issues in sixteenth‐ and seventeenth‐century London. By shedding light on the early modern English playwrights’ significant and continuing engagement with Genoa, this article seeks to contribute to a broader understanding of Renaissance Anglo‐Italian relations while simultaneously laying fertile ground for further scholarly enquiry, as well as leading to further critical insights into plays that are set in or host references to Genoa.