Consumption and Luxury Goods in the Venetian State, 16th–18th Centuries

The dense and populous network of Venetian and North Italian cities was, like those of Northern Europe, a consumer of fine textiles and a variety of colonial and exotic products (coffee, chocolate, tea and spices). Venice also retained its own luxury industries like jewelry and diamond-cutting that coped with market demands in the face of formidable competition from North European competitors.