Page 19 - Mocarelli, Luca, and Aleksander Panjek. Eds. 2020. Maize to the People! Cultivation, Consumption and Trade in the North-Eastern Mediterranean (Sixteenth-Nineteenth Century). Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 19
maize in the north-eastern mediterranean: new insights and researches
food; in its case it was due to the small plots of arable land that were usual-
ly barren. It is precisely the poorness of agriculture in the hilly and moun-
tainous areas and the necessity for their inhabitants to work in manufac-
turing activities in order to get the money to buy grain that is at the core of
Mendels’ model (Mendels 1972), recently reinterpreted in a convincing way
by Aleksander Panjek (2017).
Therefore, same as Milan or Paris, the Alpine areas had to buy grain
elsewhere but, unlike the big cities of the plain, they could not count on the
production of their surrounding areas, because the environmental situa-
tion was unfavourable. As a result, they had to pay exceptionally high grain
prices due to the transport costs. On the southern rim of the Alps were lo-
cated several small towns with grain markets where every year thousands
of tons of grain were produced and sold at high prices. That was the case,
for example, of the grain market in Desenzano that supplied the villages
of the riviera of Lake Garda and southern Trentino inhabited by around
45,000-60,000 people, equalling the size of a big city (Bertoni 2014).
In spite of the availability of grain transportation along an important
waterway, i.e. Lake Garda, the costs of reaching Desenzano and the pres-
sure of a substantial demand made prices on the market very high, most-
ly in the years of bad harvests. In 1782, for example, wheat was sold at 81.8
lire per hectolitre, while in a big city like Milan the price was only 59.7 lire.
It is interesting to note that the prices in Desenzano were perfectly aligned
with those of markets close to the Alpine area, where there was a structur-
al lack of grain, such as Bergamo and Udine, where the prices in 1782 were
80.8 and 81.2 lire per hectolitre, respectively (these data are from the forth-
coming database built by Giulio Ongaro and myself on grain prices in Italy
during the eighteenth century).
It is true, however, that in these rural markets, maize was becoming in-
creasingly important. If we consider the sessions of the Desenzano market
in August, when the availability of wheat was at its peak, and in December,
when the same applied to maize, we can find these data for the period be-
tween 1751 and 1791: in August 1751, 306 some of wheat and 621 of maize were
sold; in August 1791, 608 and 1,384, respectively; in December 1751, 159 some
of wheat and 332 of maize; in December 1791, 568 and 1,434, respectively. If
millet is also considered, it is easy to note that on the Desenzano market
wheat accounted only for 20-30% of the grain sold. Even more interesting is
the fact that on such markets close to the hills and mountains the centrality
of maize during the eighteenth century was reflected in the prices; in some
17
food; in its case it was due to the small plots of arable land that were usual-
ly barren. It is precisely the poorness of agriculture in the hilly and moun-
tainous areas and the necessity for their inhabitants to work in manufac-
turing activities in order to get the money to buy grain that is at the core of
Mendels’ model (Mendels 1972), recently reinterpreted in a convincing way
by Aleksander Panjek (2017).
Therefore, same as Milan or Paris, the Alpine areas had to buy grain
elsewhere but, unlike the big cities of the plain, they could not count on the
production of their surrounding areas, because the environmental situa-
tion was unfavourable. As a result, they had to pay exceptionally high grain
prices due to the transport costs. On the southern rim of the Alps were lo-
cated several small towns with grain markets where every year thousands
of tons of grain were produced and sold at high prices. That was the case,
for example, of the grain market in Desenzano that supplied the villages
of the riviera of Lake Garda and southern Trentino inhabited by around
45,000-60,000 people, equalling the size of a big city (Bertoni 2014).
In spite of the availability of grain transportation along an important
waterway, i.e. Lake Garda, the costs of reaching Desenzano and the pres-
sure of a substantial demand made prices on the market very high, most-
ly in the years of bad harvests. In 1782, for example, wheat was sold at 81.8
lire per hectolitre, while in a big city like Milan the price was only 59.7 lire.
It is interesting to note that the prices in Desenzano were perfectly aligned
with those of markets close to the Alpine area, where there was a structur-
al lack of grain, such as Bergamo and Udine, where the prices in 1782 were
80.8 and 81.2 lire per hectolitre, respectively (these data are from the forth-
coming database built by Giulio Ongaro and myself on grain prices in Italy
during the eighteenth century).
It is true, however, that in these rural markets, maize was becoming in-
creasingly important. If we consider the sessions of the Desenzano market
in August, when the availability of wheat was at its peak, and in December,
when the same applied to maize, we can find these data for the period be-
tween 1751 and 1791: in August 1751, 306 some of wheat and 621 of maize were
sold; in August 1791, 608 and 1,384, respectively; in December 1751, 159 some
of wheat and 332 of maize; in December 1791, 568 and 1,434, respectively. If
millet is also considered, it is easy to note that on the Desenzano market
wheat accounted only for 20-30% of the grain sold. Even more interesting is
the fact that on such markets close to the hills and mountains the centrality
of maize during the eighteenth century was reflected in the prices; in some
17
