Avviso

Avvisi (Italian: [avˈviːzo]; plural: avvisi) were hand-written newsletters used to convey political, military, and economic news quickly and efficiently throughout Europe, and more specifically Italy, during the early modern era (1500-1700). In the beginning avvisi were very similar to letters written from one dignitary to another, but diverged from such letters in the sixteenth century with more standardized practices. Avvisi can be divided into two categories: 'public' avvisi and 'secret' avvisi, though each copy was often written by the same person.

In Italian, the word translates to a notice, a warning, advice, or an announcement.

The avvisi found their origins, and peaked, in the early modern Italian world - primarily Rome and Venice. The popularity and distribution of the avvisi was driven by each court's desire to know what the opposing and even the allied courts are up to. News networks spread all across Europe, but the avviso itself was generally created in either Rome or Venice, with the rest of Europe simply consuming.

Avvisi influenced many aspects of the early modern world including public opinion, political battles, the nature of propaganda, careers, and historical records.

Public Opinion
Avvisi helped to develop public opinion by informing, organizing, and providing a voice for the public. They allowed the general public to learn of the secret dealings of the nation's leaders, form a response, and then have that response actually be heard by their fellow citizens - essentially making them new players in the game of politics.

Politics and War
Though officially renounced by many leaders at the time, avvisi were then used by those very same leaders to wage their political campaigns against one another. Destruction and censorship of avvisi was selective, demonstrating that the authorities recognized the importance of spreading news but would have preferred to spread only news that was of benefit to themselves. Competition quickly led to avvisi being used as propaganda devices both as a machine of war and in attempts to turn the mob on their own country. Conflict as a result of avvisi being used as propaganda is certainly not out of the question, either with the public or between nations. Further the avvisi provided the public with political power rarely seen before in the form of 'secret' information that could have allowed them to have influence upon the courts, and government decisions. A minority of people, such as Paolo Sarpi, believed that government institutions should rescind their censorship of avvisi and make full use of publication to combat enemy publication. An example of this includes several pamphlets written by Sarpi in defense of Venice's rights over the Adriatic.

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Wikipedia