Membership
Ruling elite in Bologna controlled this organization. Membership was predominantly male; however, some women also participated within it. These people, in theory, used their power and money to create public institutions to help desperate people in Bologna. It was not supposed to be as restrictive as confraternities, which tended to focus on helping particular groups of people such as: fallen nobles, women, or orphans. Instead the Opera Pia dei Poveri Mendicanti gave money and aid to all these organization types.
Read more about this topic: Opera Pia Dei Poveri Mendicanti
Famous quotes containing the word membership:
“The two real political parties in America are the Winners and the Losers. The people don’t acknowledge this. They claim membership in two imaginary parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, instead.”
—Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (b. 1922)