The transhumance between Abruzzo and Apulia was a phenomenon deeply rooted over the centuries and far larger in scale than is commonly imagined. From an economic perspective, it carried enormous weight, to the point of significantly affecting the budget of a state such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, becoming one of its principal sources of public revenue. Its importance was such that specific legislation was developed to protect transhumant shepherds, who were granted numerous privileges and incentives.
It is therefore evident that portraying transhumance as a marginal phenomenon, limited to the seasonal migration of a few shepherds, is profoundly misleading. On average, around one million head of livestock were in motion, and movements on this scale required a highly complex level of organization, in many respects comparable to that of a military structure.
The following pages aim to convey the true dimensions of the phenomenon by reconstructing its economic, administrative, and territorial mechanisms. A variety of sources have been used in their preparation; among these, some particularly accessible works are highlighted for readers who are not specialists, in order to encourage a direct engagement with the topics discussed:
[1] Romano Canosa, Transumanza e potere, D'Abruzzo Edizioni Menabo
[2] Paola Pierucci, Pastori e fisco, Franco Angeli
Brief historical notes
Agriculture and livestock breeding have always constituted the primary source of sustenance for the communities of the Mediterranean basin. By its very nature, agriculture tends to prevail in the more fertile areas with temperate climates, whereas livestock breeding spreads across rugged regions with harsher climates, unsuitable for cultivation…
A fundamental turning point occurred in 1447. On August 1 of that year, the King of Naples, Alfonso I of Aragon, issued a prammatica regulating transhumance and establishing the “Dogana della mena delle pecore di Puglia”…
The method adopted to tax transhumant shepherds changed several times over the centuries. Originally, it was based on *numerazione*, that is, the actual counting of livestock in transit. This operation was carried out three times…
The economic conditions of the *locati* were far from homogeneous. Most transhumant herds belonged to a limited number of large breeders who, by virtue of their economic weight, exercised considerable influence over all the others…
Having established that sheep of the *gentile* breed could also avoid transhumance provided that the corresponding *fida* was paid, the issue arose of how to collect this contribution. For this purpose, the *Doganella delle pecore rimaste* was established, formally associated with the Dogana di Foggia…
The fact that the same resource — in this case, land — is required for the productive activities of different groups inevitably leads to problems of management and conflict. In the case of transhumance, such tensions emerged from the outset in the relationship between shepherds and farmers, or more precisely, between *locati* and *massari*…
To address the ongoing abuses committed by landowners and field overseers, part of the customs revenues was reinvested in the restoration of state-owned lands and in monitoring the proper conduct of transhumance…
In the second half of the eighteenth century, transhumance gradually entered a period of decline. Wool production, which for centuries had been the driving force behind all activities connected to transhumance, became increasingly less profitable due to imports from new foreign markets…
The law abolishing the Dogana di Foggia, although consisting of only a few articles, had a devastating impact on transhumance. The main provisions of the law were…
In June 1815, Ferdinand IV of Bourbon returned to Naples and moved to formally establish the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, unifying the Kingdom of Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples. Awaiting him, among other issues, was the unresolved question of the lands of the Tavoliere. The censuazione hastily introduced by the French rulers had left significant repercussions…
During the four centuries of activity of the Dogana di Foggia, transhumance represented one of the principal driving forces of the economy of the Kingdom of Naples and, later, of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Each year, considerable capital accumulated in Foggia during the April Fair, a crucial hub for trade connected to transhumant pastoralism…