Abstract

Abstract This article examines the mechanics of Niederlech (a law that obliged merchants travelling between Germany and Italy to spend the night in the city, change wagons and pay a small sum of money) and German–Italian mobility in early modern Gemona. It argues that the fragility of Venetian institutions and a lack of German–Italian border controls set the scene for criminal activities, especially contraband, in which Gemona innkeepers appear to have played a significant part. It will also show that this illegal trafficking led to a new ruling class forming, a key factor in the city’s reorganization of social hierarchies.

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