Non havemo confirmatione alchuna né la poressemo farse non cum caricho de l'anima nostra. Note sulle contraddizioni di concessioni e divieti a fenerare. Il caso di Mantova nel XV secolo

In my essay I discuss the thesis that as far as condotte are concerned, as it has already happened with guilds’ statutes, a too strong tie to the institutional framework has produced some misinterpretations. The granting of privileges has very often been interpreted as a necessary assumption for settlements of Jewish communities. This connection assigns to the Jewish settlements and loan history a determinism and linearity that are quite artificial. Of course, the institutional contest has a value that nobody can neglect. Providing a legal framework to some controversial topics, the condotta satisfies some needs of regulatory clarity both for Christians and Jews. Moreover, giving the Jews a specific lending function, the condotta is in the same time also a way of acknowledgment and integration which allows their inclusion in the Christian civic space.