The first associations began to be created during the medieval period within the borders of the parish, mainly to protect artisans from the interventions of nobles and the government, where every craftsman found protection. The obligation to join on a professional basis was a valuable tool for monitoring artisanal activities by the state, which exercised control over raw materials and work methods to obtain higher quality works than those of other states and to impose a monopoly on the world market in various production sectors.
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In the city of Venice, corporate associations were called "schola," which were lay brotherhoods (in Venice, the first workers' associations date back to the eleventh century). They had a patron saint and included citizens from different social classes. Patricians were part of the larger schools, while others were in smaller schools. Since the thirteenth century, they became devotional institutions that aimed for mutual aid and were integrated into the special social structure of the Republic, being one of the most significant aspects of religious and civil life of the lagoon society over the centuries as an important means of maintaining civic order. From the documents of the Republic, it is clear that the term "schola" identified any kind of lay society with different social origins, with craftsmen and merchants belonging to the same profession, who joined for dedication and assistance purposes.
According to P. Fortini Brown, these "schola" were like a kind of "miniature republic" since they were governed by their rules set out in statutes and by their governing and financial management bodies.
As we mentioned earlier, the words "school" and "brotherhood" are used as synonyms, but given the meaning that the term "school" has as a place of knowledge transmission, misunderstandings arise when "schola" is used in non-contextualized contexts.
The time dictated education in crafts. The craft schools were usually elementary, and leaders were employed to guide them. Reading, writing, arithmetic, as well as elements of geometry, natural science, notarial art, office work, and mother tongue teaching were taught there. On the other hand, the students received professional knowledge directly from their trade masters.
The "St. Mary" School of Albanians in Venice was a school of craftsmanship and devotion that exclusively brought together residents of our nationality who lived in Venice or stayed there for a short time. Therefore, its main characteristic was ethnicity.
The school has its own history, starting in June 1368, when the Council of Ten granted permission to a group of "dedicated people" to establish a school dedicated to San Gallo, with its headquarters in the church of San Severo. However, in November of the same year, with a new vote, the Council of Ten suddenly changed its mind and revoked the decision. Despite the initial failure, and without formal authorization, in 1442 the Albanian community, mainly composed of leather, wool, and oil traders, decided to unite in a consortium and began drafting their statute. When presented again to the Council of Ten in 1443, the request was not accepted. The reason for the refusal was that "the right to gather in the 'schola' (school) until then belonged only to Venetians."
The Albanian school was allowed in 1448 and was the first "foreign" school in Venice, before the Dalmatian school (1451) and before the Greek school, which should have come to an end in the 15th century. The authorization to open a school at that time was not a trivial fact, as it implied the existence of a strong bond of loyalty and security.
A few years after its approval, the Albanian school was moved from the Church of San Severo to the Church of San Maurizio, while retaining the right to bury Albanians in the graves of the church of San Giovanni e Paolo. The transfer took place after the dome and ceiling of the school of San Maurizio were completed, and a cycle of paintings was commissioned from the great Albanian painter Viktor Karpaçi to decorate the halls of the building.
The Albanian school in Venice was not just a place of learning, but also a meeting place for Albanians, a place for their prayers and religious ceremonies, a place for meetings of Albanian craftsmen and traders (esnaf), a place of ethnic solidarity and mutual aid in the community.
The Albanian school in Venice, which operated from 1448 to 1780, had craftsmen as teachers and instruction was provided individually. However, it is worth noting that for an apprentice to be considered efficient, they had to know how to read and write. Private Albanian teachers, both clerical and lay, were engaged to teach the apprentices of the esnaf how to read and write.
Fellowship and other schools were established by Albanian immigrants in Ragusa, Rimini, Recanati, and elsewhere.
The most prominent Albanian personalities of the time also attended the Albanian school in Venice, including Aleks Durrsaku, Gjon Gazulli, Mikel Maruli, Dhimitër Frëngu, Mihal Artioti, Mark Bazaiti, Marin Beçikemi, Marin Barleti, Martin Segoni Novobërdasi, Nikollë Leonik Tomeu, and Viktor Karpaçi, who did not think of himself as a teacher, as there was no such need.
The students of the school of trades only needed to acquire basic knowledge of their mother tongue to be able to write and read, without the need for such high-ranking teachers. The Albanian community in Venice was large and had many educated people who were interested in working as private teachers. Albanian Enlightenment intellectuals, who were very active in that school, helped the educational and cultural development of Albanians and facilitated their integration into the host society, being university lecturers, directors of scientific departments, or high-ranking prelates, as well as distinguished thinkers of the European Renaissance, of which the Albanian lands would also be a part, under different circumstances.