The contribution aims at explaining the creation and development of the “Commercial Class” at “Ca’ Foscari” in Venice, from the birth of the High School of Commerce (1868) to the Business School (1936). Primary sources will be mainly used (Statutes, Regulations, Newsletters, Yearbooks, Reports, etc.). The “Commercial Class” of Ca’ Foscari has been very important for the purposes of training and qualification of merchants and of those who intended to dedicate themselves to commercial activity. The study will allow to highlight the motivations that led to the creation of the “Commercial Class”, the decisions taken to improve it over time as, between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the economic situation and the companies underwent significant transformations. In that period the “master” company model gradually declined in favor of the “capitalist” company and the markets, static and local, became increasingly dynamic and internationalized. Retracing the development of the qualification of the merchant/trader training at Ca’ Foscari will also allow to appreciate the process of ennobling the titles issued by the Higher Schools of Commerce and the process that led to the birth of the modern Business Schools.
KEYWORDS: Commercial education, Business Schools, High School of Commerce, Ca’ Foscari, “Banco modello”, Business practice
