Apologies if this doesn't fit with this week's theme but in various histories on Venice and some economic literature I've heard it said that Venice was the richest place on Earth per capita, I've also heard that said about the Northern/Central Italian republics generally during their golden ages.
The only problem is I haven't been able to find anything tangible to substantiate the claim and I've been looking around. Although the decline narrative seems to be emphasized by many historians, I wonder if the wealth attained by Italian city-states in this period is the reason why a wealth divergence continues between northern and southern Italy today.
I'm new here so to fit in with this week's theme, what would be the difference in marriage and courtship practices between workers, peasants, the middle classes and the aristocracy? Is it true that male fidelity was not expected in marriage in this time?
Richest place in Europe, perhaps, I would be willing to argue that that was the case. The region was the most urbanized region in the continent and the money that flowed through the cities would have been significant. It's difficult, however, to compare wealth across cultures in premodern Europe.
As far as this divide being the cause of the disparity between the north and the Mezzogiorno, that had much more to do with the land reforms of unification. Certainly, this older history contributed to the industrialization of the north, but the Risorgimento really hurt the south.