L’olio nell’economia del Mezzogiorno in età moderna

The role of olive oil in the economy of Southern Italy during the Early Modern Period The present article highlights the thousand-year-old presence of the olive trees, the expansion of its cultivation and the technical innovations that lead, over the course of centuries, to a remarkable overproduction which was destined to the foreign markets above all, at first, for industrial reasons, then as a foodstuff. Thanks to some original trade and credit instruments (winding up contracts and voce contracts) exports between the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century definitely came to exceed, by far, those of the sixteenth century. Such a development is not an obvious one because in the long run food politics, not without foundation or originality, tended to meet first and foremost the domestic needs (above all those of the population of Naples), at least until the abolition of the state intervention in the food system. Eventually, since olive oil was a source of fiscal interest, it was submitted to a particular tax regime which clashed with the considerable interests involved but at the same time ensured that the exports played a basic role in the delicate equilibrium of the kingdom’s trade balance.

Il paper evidenzia come la presenza millenaria dell’olivo, processi espansivi della coltura e innovazioni tecniche si traducano, nei secoli, in notevoli surplus di olio da destinare ai mercati esteri per motivi industriali, prima che alimentari. Grazie a originali strumenti commerciali e creditizi (contratti di liquidazione e alla voce), il trend delle esportazioni registra, tra Settecento e primo Ottocento, il definitivo superamento dei livelli cinquecenteschi. Tale processo non appare scontato, perché a lungo le politiche annonarie – non senza fondamento o originalità – tendono a soddisfare prioritariamente il fabbisogno interno (soprattutto della popolazione di Napoli), almeno sino all’abolizione del sistema annonario. Fonte di interesse fiscale, l’olio infine è sottoposto ad un particolare regime tributario che, se complica il quadro dei rilevanti interessi coinvolti, assegna alle esportazioni olearie un ruolo basilare nel delicato equilibrio della bilancia commerciale regnicola.