Market for Land in Italy

Over the past few days we have visited many wonderful areas of Italy! In the hills of Tuscany we were able to meet a speaker who talked to us about her organic family winery. Not only did they make wonderful wine, but they also had other small agricultural plots and attempted to have a "no waste" lifestyle to the best of their ability. While there, we also had the opportunity to hear a presentation from speakers about Foresta Modello delle Montagne Fiorentine (FMMF). This organization is an Italian association that joined the International Model Forest Network. They work within communities towards sustainable development of the land. 

 

Hills of Tuscany

Tuscany has a long history of land used for sharecropping, this means that a landowner would provide necessary equipment and housing and then workers would come in, provide labor, and then take a determined share of the profit off the land. This proved to be quite sustainable.

However, in the Abruzo region of Italy, sharecropping was not practiced and not as productive like the Tuscany area. While driving through the hills of the Abruzo region we were able to see far down in the valley herds of sheep grazing along with herding dogs. Within the next few days we will be learning more about the pastoral system regarding sheep and cattle.

Abruzo Countryside

Exploring more rural countryside and their markets like land, labor, or capital brings up an interesting question. This question was presented in one of the articles my partner and I read. Are urban areas to credit for successful rural economy or are they a hindrance to already successful rural economies? After analyzing many elements the article pointed out that urban areas were not automatically beneficial to the development of rural land, labor, and capital markets. Instead, it depended on the political and social developments at the time. For example, factor markets in Italy developed with the rise of cities around the 12^th century meaning urban elites could organize institutions of these emerging markets according to their interests. 

View from Village of Fontecchio 

Right now, our home base is the lovely village of Fontecchio which not surprisingly has beautiful countryside as well.  Our friend and guide Alessio told us that this area had a contrasting land institution. The land was common, owned by the citizens as a collective, but had private property areas. 

I look forward to seeing and sharing more amazing experiences during our class!