Page 383 - Panjek, Aleksander, Jesper Larsson and Luca Mocarelli, eds. 2017. Integrated Peasant Economy in a Comparative Perspective: Alps, Scandinavia and Beyond. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 383
household income str ategies in the lombar d valleys ...
also strengthened by two conditions existing in the Alpine valleys. There
existed rules which allowed some privileges to poor families, in particular
the right to pick the fruits of the common land, that is the wild berries, the
firewood, the hay etc.: these privileges obviously helped poor families to
continue to live in their Alpine village. Besides, most of the families owned
a plot of land cultivated cereals or legumes and vegetables (please note that
some Alpine families were wary about the cultivation and consumption of
potatoes and so their diffusion was limited until the second half of the 19th
century).9
The dimension and yields of the cultivated plots of land were limit-
ed and so, in a normal season, the harvest was not enough for the family’s
needs, but in any case it guaranteed part of the food for the Alpine fami-
lies as well as the possibility to breed a pig, some poultry, some rabbits, and
sometimes a cow. The surface of Alpine properties was normally between 3
and 6.50 ha, but most of them did not reach 5 ha, while many plots of land
having a good quality soil and a sunny position were between 0.5 and 2
ha. The small surface and the low earnings prevented the landowners from
making the investments necessary to improve productivity: not least be-
cause it was very difficult and expensive to improve the quality of land and
its yields. Pastures could be more rentable: they granted the food for cows
and also the hay for the market. The Alpine pastures in particular guar-
anteed also the rent paid in cash in the summer by the transhumant cat-
tle-breeders who also left the natural fertilisers of their herd. Forestry ob-
viously gave firewood, timber, hay, walnuts, chestnuts, vegetable coal etc.:
however most of the families did not receive the necessary amount for sur-
viving from their plot of woodland (that is by self-consumption and sales
on market).
There were some exceptions in the lower valleys: some land properties
were able to produce crops for maintaining a family and there also existed
some arable land and vineyards of larger dimensions that were worked by
sharecroppers or peasants. These latter were inhabitants of the valleys who
worked in agriculture out of their plots of land receiving some money or a
part of the crops. There were also some tenants who rented arable land and/
or wood: some members of their families worked in them and, even if they
obtained low earnings, these were obviously important for the survival of
9 About the evolution and relevance of the commons in the Lombard Alpine valleys
see: Della Misericordia 2012; Mocarelli 2013; 2015a; 2015b; Tedeschi 2011; 2013b;
2014.
381
also strengthened by two conditions existing in the Alpine valleys. There
existed rules which allowed some privileges to poor families, in particular
the right to pick the fruits of the common land, that is the wild berries, the
firewood, the hay etc.: these privileges obviously helped poor families to
continue to live in their Alpine village. Besides, most of the families owned
a plot of land cultivated cereals or legumes and vegetables (please note that
some Alpine families were wary about the cultivation and consumption of
potatoes and so their diffusion was limited until the second half of the 19th
century).9
The dimension and yields of the cultivated plots of land were limit-
ed and so, in a normal season, the harvest was not enough for the family’s
needs, but in any case it guaranteed part of the food for the Alpine fami-
lies as well as the possibility to breed a pig, some poultry, some rabbits, and
sometimes a cow. The surface of Alpine properties was normally between 3
and 6.50 ha, but most of them did not reach 5 ha, while many plots of land
having a good quality soil and a sunny position were between 0.5 and 2
ha. The small surface and the low earnings prevented the landowners from
making the investments necessary to improve productivity: not least be-
cause it was very difficult and expensive to improve the quality of land and
its yields. Pastures could be more rentable: they granted the food for cows
and also the hay for the market. The Alpine pastures in particular guar-
anteed also the rent paid in cash in the summer by the transhumant cat-
tle-breeders who also left the natural fertilisers of their herd. Forestry ob-
viously gave firewood, timber, hay, walnuts, chestnuts, vegetable coal etc.:
however most of the families did not receive the necessary amount for sur-
viving from their plot of woodland (that is by self-consumption and sales
on market).
There were some exceptions in the lower valleys: some land properties
were able to produce crops for maintaining a family and there also existed
some arable land and vineyards of larger dimensions that were worked by
sharecroppers or peasants. These latter were inhabitants of the valleys who
worked in agriculture out of their plots of land receiving some money or a
part of the crops. There were also some tenants who rented arable land and/
or wood: some members of their families worked in them and, even if they
obtained low earnings, these were obviously important for the survival of
9 About the evolution and relevance of the commons in the Lombard Alpine valleys
see: Della Misericordia 2012; Mocarelli 2013; 2015a; 2015b; Tedeschi 2011; 2013b;
2014.
381
