In her book “Venice’s Secret Service,” Ioanna Iordanou explores the existence of organized intelligence in Renaissance Venice. Contrary to common belief, intelligence operations were not solely a product of the modern industrial state. Venice, a Great Power at the time, had its own secret service called the Council of Ten, composed of seventeen men who served as the state security body under the Doge. This council used managerial practices and formal reports to handle secret information efficiently. Venice also employed secrecy as a tool to govern the city and utilized anonymous tip boxes to gather information from citizens. The city’s cryptology department was centered around a prominent cryptologist who often selected family members as new recruits. While Venice did not have a professional spy force, it relied on amateurs, criminals, and individuals paid with money or favors to gather information. The book provides a fascinating insight into early professional cryptology.
https://www.thomas-huehn.com/2024/01/venices-secret-service/