Page 31 - 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. 31
maize diffusion in the republic of venice: the case of the province of vicenza
high, while in the central southern part there were the Colli Berici, hills of
lower heights. Indeed, according to the data included in the “Provincial
Territorial Plan – Environmental Report” prepared in 2009 by the Province
of Vicenza (Province of Vicenza, 2009, 7), among the 2,722.2 square km
of the present province (almost corresponding to the early modern one),
1094.25 square km, i.e. 40.2%, are mountainous, 814.25 square km (29.9%)
are hilly, and just 813.7 square km (29.9%) are level. Generally speaking,
we can therefore say that it was a far from level territory, which had rel-
evant effects on its economic structure. Despite this, from a demograph-
ic point of view, the Province of Vicenza was densely populated: accord-
ing to Fornasin and Zannini (Fornasin and Zannini 1999, 115), in 1548 there
were 124,760 inhabitants in the countryside of the province, and 30,948 in
the city – so there was a total population of 155,708. It was a relevant demo-
graphic weight (Ongaro 2020): referring to the present borders of the prov-
ince, it means around 56 inhabitants per square km, including the city, or
46 inhabitants per square km including only the countryside. Just think
that at the end of the eighteenth century the areas that would be the first to
industrialize, i.e. England and the Low Countries, had a population density
of, respectively, 61 and 51 inhabitants per square km. These figures are even
more relevant if we consider the morphology of the territory that implies
the concentration of population in the few level areas. Looking at a “food
and mouths” (Galletti 1994) register dated 1546 (BCB, AT ), which will also
be mentioned on the following pages and which records the population of
81 villages of the countryside of Vicenza, we can observe that 24 of them
greatly exceeded 1,000 inhabitants and that, among these, seven were char-
acterized by a very relevant population, sometimes nearly reaching 5,000
inhabitants: Brendola (4,728 inhabitants), Montecchio Maggiore (3,178),
Thiene (2,187), Arzignano (4,834), Schio (4,958), Lonigo (2,884), Valdagno
(3,070). Almost all these villages were located in the area of the province
close to the mountains; especially Schio, Arzignano and Valdagno were the
fulcrum of the development of manufacture in the countryside of Vicenza
in the sixteenth century. Moreover, we must consider that the 1546 survey
is incomplete, meaning that other villages (such as Marostica) that were de-
mographically relevant are not included in the register.
As regards the economic structure of the province, especially in the
last twenty years, many researchers have outlined the main characteris-
tics of the secondary sector, both in the city (Demo 2001; 2004; 2006) and
in the countryside (Vianello 2004; Demo and Vianello 2011); however, the
29
high, while in the central southern part there were the Colli Berici, hills of
lower heights. Indeed, according to the data included in the “Provincial
Territorial Plan – Environmental Report” prepared in 2009 by the Province
of Vicenza (Province of Vicenza, 2009, 7), among the 2,722.2 square km
of the present province (almost corresponding to the early modern one),
1094.25 square km, i.e. 40.2%, are mountainous, 814.25 square km (29.9%)
are hilly, and just 813.7 square km (29.9%) are level. Generally speaking,
we can therefore say that it was a far from level territory, which had rel-
evant effects on its economic structure. Despite this, from a demograph-
ic point of view, the Province of Vicenza was densely populated: accord-
ing to Fornasin and Zannini (Fornasin and Zannini 1999, 115), in 1548 there
were 124,760 inhabitants in the countryside of the province, and 30,948 in
the city – so there was a total population of 155,708. It was a relevant demo-
graphic weight (Ongaro 2020): referring to the present borders of the prov-
ince, it means around 56 inhabitants per square km, including the city, or
46 inhabitants per square km including only the countryside. Just think
that at the end of the eighteenth century the areas that would be the first to
industrialize, i.e. England and the Low Countries, had a population density
of, respectively, 61 and 51 inhabitants per square km. These figures are even
more relevant if we consider the morphology of the territory that implies
the concentration of population in the few level areas. Looking at a “food
and mouths” (Galletti 1994) register dated 1546 (BCB, AT ), which will also
be mentioned on the following pages and which records the population of
81 villages of the countryside of Vicenza, we can observe that 24 of them
greatly exceeded 1,000 inhabitants and that, among these, seven were char-
acterized by a very relevant population, sometimes nearly reaching 5,000
inhabitants: Brendola (4,728 inhabitants), Montecchio Maggiore (3,178),
Thiene (2,187), Arzignano (4,834), Schio (4,958), Lonigo (2,884), Valdagno
(3,070). Almost all these villages were located in the area of the province
close to the mountains; especially Schio, Arzignano and Valdagno were the
fulcrum of the development of manufacture in the countryside of Vicenza
in the sixteenth century. Moreover, we must consider that the 1546 survey
is incomplete, meaning that other villages (such as Marostica) that were de-
mographically relevant are not included in the register.
As regards the economic structure of the province, especially in the
last twenty years, many researchers have outlined the main characteris-
tics of the secondary sector, both in the city (Demo 2001; 2004; 2006) and
in the countryside (Vianello 2004; Demo and Vianello 2011); however, the
29
