Page 74 - 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. 74
maize to the people!
maize research has better clarified its diffusion both regionally2 and na-
tionally (Cazzola 1991; Finzi 2009; Mantelli 1998). The cereal was also intro-
duced in Friuli in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries3. The
price lists of Udine, the reference market for the whole Friuli region, in-
cluded maize for the first time already in 1622, but its presence is certified
in notarial contracts only after 1630 (Fornasin 1999).
At first, maize was considered a curiosity and its cultivation was limit-
ed to botanical gardens; then in later stages it spread to the countryside. It
requires large quantities of water for its cultivation, so it is believed that it
first spread on wetlands, where there were also higher yields. Afterward, it
gained more and more space on dry soils, where, although the yields were
much lower, its greater resistance compared to other cereals was useful.
Maize competed with other spring cereals. In Piedmont, the initial success
of the new crop was limited to areas where sorghum was preferred (Levi
1979, 1094). In Lombardy, the introduction of maize did not alter traditional
rotation systems, but was limited only to replacing spring cereals (Coppola
1979). Finally, the same propagation models were observed for Emilia and
Romagna (Poni 1963, 48; Cazzola 1991, 115-117; Bolognesi 1986, 167), and for
Tuscany, where the spread of maize mainly replaced legumes (Mineccia
1983, 327). The new crop competed with other cereals that had a similar
growing season. For this reason, therefore, its diffusion had only a limited
influence on the cultivation of wheat and rye which, in Italy, were sown in
autumn and harvested in June4.
The spread of the American cereal in the countryside did not automat-
ically mean that it was used for food. This question is fundamental for the
present study, as we cannot speak of connections between this crop and
population growth unless the stages of its consumption are outlined first.
In Friuli, as in other areas of central and northern Italy, the peasant family,
who worked on the farms of large landowners, used winter cereals, in par-
ticular wheat, for the payment of rents and as exchange goods. The rural
population was mainly fed with spring cereals, while the urban population
typically ate winter cereals. From this point of view, therefore, the spread of
maize should represent a good approximation to the consumption of this
cereal in the countryside. According to numerous studies, mistrust had
2 Piedmont, Levi 1979; Lombardy, Coppola 1979; Venetian, Fassina 1982, Gasparini
2002; Emilia, Finzi, Baiada 1985; Romagna, Bolognesi 1986; in comparative form,
Mocarelli and Vaquero Piñeiro 2018.
3 The first attestation, however, dates back to 1600 (Morassi 1997, 184).
4 Regarding the agricultural calendar in Italy, I point out Istat 1937.
72
maize research has better clarified its diffusion both regionally2 and na-
tionally (Cazzola 1991; Finzi 2009; Mantelli 1998). The cereal was also intro-
duced in Friuli in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries3. The
price lists of Udine, the reference market for the whole Friuli region, in-
cluded maize for the first time already in 1622, but its presence is certified
in notarial contracts only after 1630 (Fornasin 1999).
At first, maize was considered a curiosity and its cultivation was limit-
ed to botanical gardens; then in later stages it spread to the countryside. It
requires large quantities of water for its cultivation, so it is believed that it
first spread on wetlands, where there were also higher yields. Afterward, it
gained more and more space on dry soils, where, although the yields were
much lower, its greater resistance compared to other cereals was useful.
Maize competed with other spring cereals. In Piedmont, the initial success
of the new crop was limited to areas where sorghum was preferred (Levi
1979, 1094). In Lombardy, the introduction of maize did not alter traditional
rotation systems, but was limited only to replacing spring cereals (Coppola
1979). Finally, the same propagation models were observed for Emilia and
Romagna (Poni 1963, 48; Cazzola 1991, 115-117; Bolognesi 1986, 167), and for
Tuscany, where the spread of maize mainly replaced legumes (Mineccia
1983, 327). The new crop competed with other cereals that had a similar
growing season. For this reason, therefore, its diffusion had only a limited
influence on the cultivation of wheat and rye which, in Italy, were sown in
autumn and harvested in June4.
The spread of the American cereal in the countryside did not automat-
ically mean that it was used for food. This question is fundamental for the
present study, as we cannot speak of connections between this crop and
population growth unless the stages of its consumption are outlined first.
In Friuli, as in other areas of central and northern Italy, the peasant family,
who worked on the farms of large landowners, used winter cereals, in par-
ticular wheat, for the payment of rents and as exchange goods. The rural
population was mainly fed with spring cereals, while the urban population
typically ate winter cereals. From this point of view, therefore, the spread of
maize should represent a good approximation to the consumption of this
cereal in the countryside. According to numerous studies, mistrust had
2 Piedmont, Levi 1979; Lombardy, Coppola 1979; Venetian, Fassina 1982, Gasparini
2002; Emilia, Finzi, Baiada 1985; Romagna, Bolognesi 1986; in comparative form,
Mocarelli and Vaquero Piñeiro 2018.
3 The first attestation, however, dates back to 1600 (Morassi 1997, 184).
4 Regarding the agricultural calendar in Italy, I point out Istat 1937.
72
