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The Compagnie della Calza ("stocking companies") were companies of young Venetian noblemen who organized the theatrical life of shows and performances during the 15th and 16th century.
The Compagnie della Calza were founded around the mid 15th century in Venice where they managed and organized the "spettacoli cittadini" (citizens' or people's spectacles). Every year, at the beginning of the carnival each compagnia della calza organized a series of performances reserved for the Venetian nobility for which (at the companies' expenses) famous jesters of the time were hired, but they also organized proper theater performances involving famous playwrights such as Angelo Beolco called "il Ruzante" and Pietro Aretino.
The various companies had imaginative names, often inspired by virtues, such as the Floridi, the Uniti, or the Concordi. Others drew their inspiration from gilds such as the Ortolani (greengrocers) and the Zardinieri (gardeners). The companies distinguished themselves by the color of their stockings, and by complex embroidery referring to the name of the corresponding company. In Vittore Carpaccio's The Meeting of the Betrothed and the Departure for the Pilgrimage, part of the "Legend of Saint Ursula" cycle, one can clearly see the complex embroidery with the initials F.[ratelli] Z.[ardinieri] on the left sleeve of one of the two companions.
During the celebrations surrounding the visit of sovereigns such as that of Henry III of France in 1574, as well as during the annual feast of Ascension (the "festa della Sensa" in Venetian, and of equal importance to the Venetians as was the carnival), the compagnie della calza were mobilized for organizing processions on the canals, operating the Bucentaur, and spreading the spectacle events through the city's calli.
Among the principal Venetian spectacles promoted by the compagnie della calza were the "momarie", masked processions held along the canals, representing the struggles between Vices and Virtues, with floating theatres on the main canals and prepared meals on the bridges for ambassadors and sovereigns visiting Venice.
During the "festa della Sensa" (Venetian Ascension) the "caza al toro" ("bull-hunt"), a type of bullfight, was held on Piazza San Marco, as well as various festivities with the participation of jesters and famous author-actors of the "commedia alla villanesca" ("rustic comedy") such as Ruzante, Menato, and Cherea.
The most important testimony of the compagnie della calza was given in the memories of Marino Sanuto (Marin Sanudo in Venetian), written in the Venetian language.
