The Florentine Onesta and the Control of Prostitution, 1403-1680
This article examines the structure and operation of the Onesta (Office of Decency) from its inception in 1403 in Florence to its absorption by the city's chief criminal court in 1680. The Office was created ostensibly to control prostitution but ultimately became more interested in exploiting...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, Inc.
1993
|
| In: |
The sixteenth century journal
Year: 1993, Volume: 24, Issue: 2, Pages: 273-300 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
|
| Summary: | This article examines the structure and operation of the Onesta (Office of Decency) from its inception in 1403 in Florence to its absorption by the city's chief criminal court in 1680. The Office was created ostensibly to control prostitution but ultimately became more interested in exploiting prostitutes to support the convent of the Convertite, established paradoxically as a refuge for repentant single prostitutes. The Office failed because of resistance to the process of registration, which conferred a particular negative public identity on women designated as prostitutes and, by the sixteenth century, on some of their powerful clients. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2326-0726 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The sixteenth century journal
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/2541951 |