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braccio [Italian]

In Italy, 14ᵗʰ – 20ᵗʰ centuries, a unit of length used almost exclusively for cloth, 550 - 700 millimeters. The braccio was used for cut pieces and the canna for length as woven. Braccio also means “arm”, and is in concept the length of an arm.

Nineteenth Century Braccio, from Doursther
Locale	Comments and Equivalences	millimeters
Bergamo		655.3
Bologna		640
Ferrara	for silk cloth	634.4
Ferrara	for cotton, wool, etc. cloth	673.6
Florence	= 2 palmi = 20 soldi = 60 quattrini = 240 denari = 2880 punti	583.6
Genoa	= 2 13 palmi	581.25
Livorno	= 2 palmi = 12 crazie = 20 soldi = 60 quattrini = 240 denari = 2880 punti	583.6
Milan	= 12 oncie = 144 punti = 1728 atomi. In Milan the braccio was metricized in 1803, being redefined as = 1 meter = 10 palmi = 100 ditti = 1000 atomi.	594.9
Naples	= 2 2/5 palmi	698.7
Padua	for silk cloth	637.5
Padua	for wool and linen cloth	681
Parma	for silk cloth	588
	for linen and wool cloth	640
	braccio di legno, (“braccio of wood”), used in surveying and stating road mileage, = 12 onces = 144 punti = 1728 atomi.	542.15
Pisa	braccio di panno, = 12 crazie = 20 soldi = 60 quattrini = 240 denari	583.6
Rome	braccio d'ara or sacred braccio, = 6 sacred palmi	750
	braccio of the weavers, = 3 palmi	636
	braccio of the merchants, = 4 palmi	848
Sienna	for wool cloth	377.6
Sienna	for cotton cloth	600.3
Venice	for silk cloth	638.7
Venice	for wool cloth	683.4

sources

Braza 100 venetiane fano in Fiorenza bra. 113 in 114.

One hundred Venetian braccia make between 113 and 114 Florentine braccia.

Bartolommeo di Pasi.
Tariffa de' pesi e mesure con gratia et privilegio.
Venice: 1503.

Panni lini e lani vi [in Florence] si vendono a braccia che quattro braccia fa una canna, e a questa misura si vende tucte chose che sieno da misura.

[In Florence] linen and wool cloth is sold by the bracchio, 4 of which make 1 canna, and by this measure they sell all things which ? the measure.

Chiarini, 1481.