Population growth was more or less constant, excluding the years when the region was affected by exceptional plague epidemics, such as the one in 1630 that caused the death of two-thirds of the inhabitants.

With the final fall of the Venetian Republic and the subsequent Peace of Pressburg, on May 1, 1806, Veneto returned under the rule of the French, who abrogated the vicariates, including the Valpolicella one.

[1][2] Another primary source is a collection of rules and institutes called Ordini, e Consuetudini, che si osservano nell'Offitio del Vicariato della Valpolicella.

[5] When the bloody rule of Ezzelino III da Romano ended, the city of Verona appointed in 1259 Leonardino della Scala as its podestà and, the following year, captain of the people.

[6] In the following years, the della Scala family greatly expanded their possessions, reaching its greatest extent with Cangrande, who came to rule over almost the entirety of today's Veneto, part of Emilia Romagna and Lombardy.

[9] Federico, a staunch supporter of Emperor Henry VII, received confirmation of his powers over these fiefdoms from the latter on February 11, 1311, while on September 15 of the same year he was granted dominion over more or less the entire territory of today's Valpolicella.

[9] Settling in the castle of Marano, which he had in the meantime restored and fortified, Federico began to administer the county assisted by the nobleman Ottonello da Ponton.

[11] After participating in an unsuccessful conspiracy against Cangrande della Scala, lord of Verona, Federico fell into such ruin that on September 14, 1325, he was forced to flee into exile in Trent.

Taking advantage of the discontent of the Veronese with the new lord and the continuing unrest in the city, the army of the Venetian Republic, aided in part by the people, entered Verona and put the Carraresi to flight.

Although the French provisional government wanted to appear as a promoter of freedom and continuity, the reality proved to be quite different, condemning the Venetian institutions to set off toward an inexorable decline.

After a few days the revolt was suppressed in blood; the village of Pescantina alone saw the killing of as many as eighteen of its inhabitants who had tried to defend their boats from French soldiers who wanted to take possession of them.

[26][27] With the Treaty of Campo Formio of 1797, which decreed the demise of the Venetian Republic, the centuries-old Vicariate of Valpolicella was also suppressed, however briefly reestablished following the subsequent cession of Veneto to the Austrians.

[28] With the Peace of Pressburg of December 26, 1805, which for the territories located to the left of the Adige came into force only from May 1 of the following year, Veneto once again came under the control of the French, who permanently abrogated all vicariates.

This favorable situation can be explained by the fact that the valley was a borderland and therefore it was necessary for the Venetian government to secure the loyalty of the inhabitants for the custody of strategic areas, such as the Ceraino Sluice or the mountain passes on the border with Trentino.

[54] The Vicariate of Valpolicella was exempt from providing troops, although it had the obligation to accommodate those in transit and to pay any war tributes as well as to contribute to the fortifications of the city of Verona.

Although the Adige River flowed through the entire southern border of the valley, the Vicariate of Valpolicella was not required to take care of embankment repairs beyond a mere 120 perches.

[57] Despite some crises that cyclically affected the area, there was a steady development of agrarian activity between the 16th and 17th centuries, which continued to be an excellent source of income for large landowners.

[58] In the mid-15th century, owing to the impetus given by the Venetians, the wool production activity was supplanted by the cultivation of mulberry trees for the breeding of silkworms, a choice that proved very profitable.

Considerable space was also to be occupied by grapevines, present in Valpolicella since prehistoric times; in Castelrotto grape seeds belonging to vitis vinifera have been found near vestiges of ancient dwellings dating back to the Iron Age.

The presence of numerous streams of a torrential nature favored the appearance of many mills, particularly in the area north of Fumane and Marano, although the waters of the Adige were also widely used for this purpose, from Ponton to Settimo di Pescantina.

The latter was the tool for determining the tax-paying capacity of each individual taxpayer (allibrato), but due to a wide discretion it was often a source of injustice in favor of the more powerful classes.

[60] Each allibrato in the valley was listed in a register known as the Campione d'Estimo, showing his or her estimo calculated on the average of five stime and excluding the highest and lowest.

The most prestigious courts also featured a farmyard with a manor house, a chapel, workers' tenements, storehouses, stables, porches, barn, chicken coop, pigsty, and the increasingly common dovecote.

[67] During the 15th century the Veronese church experienced a period of deep moral crisis, with clergy struggling to establish themselves as credible spiritual leaders for the population.

The most effective intervention was the institution of periodic pastoral visits to parishes to check the state of the buildings and the clergy present, which ended with suggestions and provisions aimed at improving the conditions found.

The minutes drawn up on the occasion of Barbaro and Giberti's visits are a valuable source for learning about Valpolicella's ecclesiastical organization and reconstructing the history of the various buildings used for worship.

On the exterior is a fresco attributed to Giovanni Battista Lanceni, while the interior, accessed through a Baroque portal, contains an altarpiece by Alessandro Marchesini depicting St. Clare Protecting Valpolicella.

[71] Tradition has it that next to the Domus Vallis, precisely to its left, were the prisons, consistent with the fact that the vicar was also entrusted with the task of administering justice and passing sentences.