Work and workplaces in early modern Naples: a gender perspective

This article employs a gendered analysis to explore work and workplaces in Naples during the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. Using a work-task approach with judicial sources, it offers a novel investigation into the economic activity of women in southern Italy. The results demonstrate that women played an active role in all sectors of the economy, beyond domestic and care work. Spatial analysis unveils an intricate labour system characterized by dynamic and flexible boundaries and thus challenges the conventional dichotomy between public and private spheres. The findings call into question traditional schemas by offering a more nuanced interpretation of the division of labour in early modern Mediterranean urban contexts.