Page 29 - 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. 29
maize diffusion in the republic of venice: the case of the province of vicenza
Friuli region, the provinces of Brescia and Bergamo, and finally the rest of
the Lombardy region and the Piedmont one3.
While sketching the geographical expansion of maize, some elements
should be underlined and will be recalled on the following pages: firstly, the
introduction of maize initially occurred on marginal fields, usually char-
acterized by a high humidity level that made them unsuitable for the cul-
tivation of wheat4. Secondly, it is important to keep in mind that in these
fields maize gradually substituted the minor cereals, especially during the
famines – we have already referred to the food crisis of the 1590s – because
its high yield was a useful instrument in rebalancing the relationship be-
tween population and resources5. Besides these elements, we should not
forget that the importance of the yield was accompanied by the ‘newness’
of maize; indeed, given that it was a previously unknown cereal, it was not
included in the farming contracts and in the tithe obligations (Levi 1979,
1095; 1991, 156; Cazzola 2002, 236; 2015, 38, 40, 44). This ‘exemption’ guaran-
teed to the peasants the possibility to keep the entire harvest for their fam-
ilies. Finally, Franco Cazzola and Roberto Finzi in particular emphasized
the strong relationship between the introduction of maize and the charac-
terization of the agrarian contracts, underlining that the diffusion of this
cereal happened initially where the fields were cultivated by day labourers.
Indeed, maize became a part of their salary in order to place a greater part
of wheat on the market. On the contrary, according to Cazzola with refer-
ence to the Emilia Romagna region, “the areas of more ancient cultivation
and where there were well-established sharecropping structures […] expe-
rienced generally a greater resistance to the new cereal” (Cazzola 1991, 118-
120; 2014, 318; 2015, 40, 44-45). Therefore, if in Emilia Romagna the share-
cropping areas were characterized by a later diffusion of maize, Giovanni
Levi asserts that, at least in Piedmont, also “the areas characterized by the
3 Fassina 1982, 38-50; Coppola 1979; Levi 1979, 1092-1100; Finzi 2009, 28-31; Cazzo-
la 2014, 317; 2015, 39-42; Fornasin 1999; 2000, 11-31; Pezzolo 2011, 101; Rombai and
Boncompagni 2002, 188; Doria 2002, 571; Vecchiato 1979, 72; Mocarelli and Vaque-
ro Piñeiro 2018, 26; Sereni 1982, 231; Gasparini 2015b, 138-141.
4 Cazzola 1991, 112-113; 2015, 39, 43; Finzi 2009, 19-20, 28; Cazzola 2014, 314; 2002,
236; Gasparini 2002, 34; Fassina 1982, 32-33, 55; Levi 1991, 160; Montanari 1993, 128-
129; Coppola 1979, 38-39.
5 Levi 1991, 156-157, 162; 1979, 1094-1095, 1098; Cazzola 1991, 112, 114-115, 118; 2014,
310-311, 317-319; 2002, 236; 2015, 35, 42-44; Doria 2002, 571; Finzi 2009, 34-35, 43-45;
Gasparini 2002, 16, 20-22; Montanari 1993, 163-165; Pezzolo 2011, 101; Fassina 1982,
52-53; Rombai and Boncompagni 2002, 188; Mocarelli and Vaquero Piñeiro 2018,
24; Coppola 1979, 39, 41, 44; Sereni 1982, 231.
27
Friuli region, the provinces of Brescia and Bergamo, and finally the rest of
the Lombardy region and the Piedmont one3.
While sketching the geographical expansion of maize, some elements
should be underlined and will be recalled on the following pages: firstly, the
introduction of maize initially occurred on marginal fields, usually char-
acterized by a high humidity level that made them unsuitable for the cul-
tivation of wheat4. Secondly, it is important to keep in mind that in these
fields maize gradually substituted the minor cereals, especially during the
famines – we have already referred to the food crisis of the 1590s – because
its high yield was a useful instrument in rebalancing the relationship be-
tween population and resources5. Besides these elements, we should not
forget that the importance of the yield was accompanied by the ‘newness’
of maize; indeed, given that it was a previously unknown cereal, it was not
included in the farming contracts and in the tithe obligations (Levi 1979,
1095; 1991, 156; Cazzola 2002, 236; 2015, 38, 40, 44). This ‘exemption’ guaran-
teed to the peasants the possibility to keep the entire harvest for their fam-
ilies. Finally, Franco Cazzola and Roberto Finzi in particular emphasized
the strong relationship between the introduction of maize and the charac-
terization of the agrarian contracts, underlining that the diffusion of this
cereal happened initially where the fields were cultivated by day labourers.
Indeed, maize became a part of their salary in order to place a greater part
of wheat on the market. On the contrary, according to Cazzola with refer-
ence to the Emilia Romagna region, “the areas of more ancient cultivation
and where there were well-established sharecropping structures […] expe-
rienced generally a greater resistance to the new cereal” (Cazzola 1991, 118-
120; 2014, 318; 2015, 40, 44-45). Therefore, if in Emilia Romagna the share-
cropping areas were characterized by a later diffusion of maize, Giovanni
Levi asserts that, at least in Piedmont, also “the areas characterized by the
3 Fassina 1982, 38-50; Coppola 1979; Levi 1979, 1092-1100; Finzi 2009, 28-31; Cazzo-
la 2014, 317; 2015, 39-42; Fornasin 1999; 2000, 11-31; Pezzolo 2011, 101; Rombai and
Boncompagni 2002, 188; Doria 2002, 571; Vecchiato 1979, 72; Mocarelli and Vaque-
ro Piñeiro 2018, 26; Sereni 1982, 231; Gasparini 2015b, 138-141.
4 Cazzola 1991, 112-113; 2015, 39, 43; Finzi 2009, 19-20, 28; Cazzola 2014, 314; 2002,
236; Gasparini 2002, 34; Fassina 1982, 32-33, 55; Levi 1991, 160; Montanari 1993, 128-
129; Coppola 1979, 38-39.
5 Levi 1991, 156-157, 162; 1979, 1094-1095, 1098; Cazzola 1991, 112, 114-115, 118; 2014,
310-311, 317-319; 2002, 236; 2015, 35, 42-44; Doria 2002, 571; Finzi 2009, 34-35, 43-45;
Gasparini 2002, 16, 20-22; Montanari 1993, 163-165; Pezzolo 2011, 101; Fassina 1982,
52-53; Rombai and Boncompagni 2002, 188; Mocarelli and Vaquero Piñeiro 2018,
24; Coppola 1979, 39, 41, 44; Sereni 1982, 231.
27
