Linear unit of measure used in Italy before the adoption of the decimal metric system, with variable values according to the place and corresponding to about half of a meter (Bologna 0.64 cm , Milan 0.59 cm, and Venice 0.68 cm). In Filippo Baldinucci’s Dictionary (1681) the "braccio" indicates the equivalent to the "passetto," specifying that it "contains twenty ‘sodi’ and is the fourth part of the rod."