The land-registry of usurped lands in southern Istria in the second half of the 18th century (Part I: Marčana)

Abstract

The Author documentarily describes an interesting and important detail of the agrarian history of the Venetian part of Istria: the usurping of communal lands, particularly in Marčana (ital: Mariana), not far from Pula in the second half of the 18th century. This micro-historical topic is part of wider economic and juridical problems, and even, in a wider sense, it is part of the history of the transformation of the scenery, in other words of the history of the environment. The wrongful appropriation of communal pieces of land and their incorporation in private properties are typical for the whole northern Adriatic area of the Venetian Republic, but also for the biggest part od Western Europe in the second half of the Settecento. The example given by the village of Marčana fits into the process of transformation of European agricultural societies and the appearence of agrarian individualism, subjects treated by the famous French historian Marc Bloch in 1930. In this paper, after introductory considerations, presents transcripts of documents from the collection Archivio di Stato di Venezia: Provveditori sopra Beni Comunali, Polo. Filza 271 - Catastico de Beni Comunali della Villa di Marzana. On the basis of a Senate deliberation, the Conte-proweditore of the town of Pula formed in August 1771 a commission which surveyed all usurped pieces of communal land and made a land-registry in company with the village-chieftains (župani - merige), village judges and the Twelve officers (»Dadodeci*), as well as with the public assessors (Pubblici stimadori). In the documents we find the names of the villagers who took possession of lands, woods, pools or public routes, the size of plots, the place-name and the duration of the usurpation. That is why this documents are very important not only for the economic and juridical history, but also as ethnic, anthroponymic, toponymic and general linguistic evidence.