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ITALY. 



(See Plan, p. 76.) 



I. INTRODUCTION. Owing to the time and space conceded, this must be considered 

 merely as a very condensed essay on the subject. Italy cannot be said to possess any of the 

 grand fisheries and extensive fish-cultural establishments of Northern Europe ; our seas are 

 numerically richer in species, but far less so when the number of individuals of important 

 food-fishes comes to be considered ; and our fresh-water fish-fauna is certainly poor in game- 

 fish, while our rivers are relatively few and small. It must, however, be borne in mind that 

 the fisheries of few countries, and of none in Europe, present such a variety as those of Italy. 

 A vast amount of information on the subject is contained in the five big volumes, "La 

 Pesca in Italia," edited by Professor A. Targioni Tozzetti, and published by Government 

 (Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce) between 1871-74. The matter contained 

 in this publication was principally collected by local committees, in order to bring together 

 the information necessary for the compilation of a uniform fishery legislation. The first three 

 volumes are dedicated to sea-fisheries, the two following to freshwater-fisheries ; the arrange- 

 ment of the contents, owing to the special object in view and consequently to the system 

 followed in collecting the materials, is somewhat defective, and inevitable repetitions occur ; 

 yet the amount of most valuable information on the former fishery legislation, local privileges 

 and traditions; on the divers fisheries, nets, implements and boats used; on the social 

 condition, manners and customs of fisherfolk on the different parts of the Italian sea-coasts, 

 lagoons, lakes and rivers ; and the number of documents, edicts, &c., some of special historical 

 value on the subject, collected, is very great. Professor Targioni Tozzetti published besides 

 a condensed, but yet lengthy, report on Italian Fisheries, as an Introduction to the Official 

 Catalogue of the Italian section at the Berlin International Fisheries Exhibition in 1880 

 (Esposizione internazionale di Pesca in Berlino. SEZIONE ITALIANA. Catalogo degli Espositori 

 e delle cose esposte, pp. xvii.-cxxxvi. FIRENZE, 1880). Besides, different reports on special 

 fisheries have been published from time to time by Government. From these different 

 sources I have collected much information, without which my task would have been no 

 easy one. 



II. FISHERY LEGISLATION, PAST AND PRESENT. As a natural consequence of her long 

 political division, few countries, up to quite a recent date, presented such a varied and large 

 amount of edicts, laws and regulations relating to fishery, some dating back to the earlier 

 part of the Middle Ages, as Italy. A large series of big volumes would be required to collect 

 the documents relating to past Italian fishery legislation, and a varied and singular collection 

 it would prove, interesting besides as bringing down to our days some of the piscatorial 

 traditions of the ancient Greeks and Komans, curious from a linguistic point of view as a 

 medley of corrupt Lathi, mediaeval Italian, Spanish and local dialects. I may quote amongst 

 the more remarkable of such documents the innumerable decrees of the Kepublic of Venice, 

 relating to fishery and pisciculture, in the lagoons and valli. One of the earliest bears the 

 date 13th August, 1314 ; and the curious Eed Book (Libro Rosso'), regulating to the smallest 

 details all fishery matters of the inner sea (Mare piccolo') of Taranto, which dates positively 

 further back than the fourteenth century. Many such documents were originally emanated 

 to establish feudal rights, which afterwards became the heirlooms of municipalities or 

 devolved to the State. From the earliest periods of any social status, piscatorial and 

 maritime matters have been much mixed up together, and fishermen and sailors regulated 

 by identical laws ; on regaining her liberty and completing her unity, Italy sought in the 

 first place to render as much as possible homogeneous and uniform the varied legislations up 

 to that period regulating the status of the different parts of the country now brought together ; 

 the promulgation of the Civil Codex of the new kingdom of Italy was shortly followed by 

 that of the mercantile navy, and in this last was clearly established that while all the 

 disciplinary regulations relating to fishermen and fishery along the sea-coasts, more especially 

 on account of the maritime conscription and registration of boats, was to depend on the central 

 naval administration (Ministry of Marine), all that related to the economy of fishery was 



