Common Land in Eastern Lombardy during the Nineteenth Century

The paper presents the features of common land in eastern Lombardy during the nineteenth century. It analyses the methods used to maximise earnings derived from common land and the system used for the distribution of the products which were obtained. Furthermore it evaluates the damage caused to the environment by the people (whether tenants or owners) who did not use common land in the Alpine valleys as a whole. Governments favoured the sale of common land, but they underestimated the investment required by new landlords to make real improvement in plots of land. The result was that new laws contributed to an over-exploitation of common land: most of the common land was sold but the principal goal of municipalities and governments (to generate revenue through sales and increased yields) was not been achieved. In some villages the social and economic costs were very high (between 50% and 80% of inhabitants were forced to emigrate) and, as new landlords over-exploited previously common land, there was some environmental damage. Many problems were related to the inappropriate use of common lands: new landlords adopted a strategy aiming at a rapid pay-off for their investment which simultaneously created environmental dangers. Only technical progress (improving yields) and new laws limiting the power of landlords could restore the situation. If we consider how common land and the system of distribution of its produce reduced environmental risks and helped people to survive, it becomes clear that the collective use of property was less expensive than private ownership. This was more evident in the high Alpine valleys and where the average earnings were low and the investments needed to increase yields were very expensive.