History of viticulture in Italy
The history of viticulture in Italy is central to viticulture throughout Europe.
From the beginning to the Middle Ages
Italy plays a crucial role in the history of viticulture. The starting point for viticulture on the Italian peninsula can be found in the Greek colonies in the south of today's Italy.
Viticulture was also important in the Etruscan culture . At the time of its greatest expansion, at the time of Emperor Trajan , the Roman Empire stretched over three continents: over the areas around the Mediterranean Sea , over Gaul and large parts of Britain and over the areas around the Black Sea . Rome thus ruled the entire Mediterranean region .
The trade , the arts and the culture reached a first heyday during the time of the Roman Empire in parts of its territory. In viticulture, the Romans influenced progress in today's classic wine-growing countries, Germany , France , Italy, Austria , Portugal and Spain . Under the influence of Roman culture, wine became part of everyday culture in large parts of the empire and consumption was open to all strata of the population. The increasing demand could no longer be met from Italy, so that viticulture spread with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The work of Roman writers, above all Cato the Elder , Columella , Horace , Palladius , Pliny , Varro and Virgil , provide an insight into the role of wine in everyday culture. In addition, some works give an overview of the state of the art in viticulture at that time.
Early history
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Grapevines have been known in what is now Italy since prehistoric times. So far, however, it has not yet been possible to determine the point in time from which viticulture began. The oldest evidence of winemaking found so far was found in terracotta vessels that were found in a cave near Sciacca in Sicily and in which in the 4th millennium BC. Chr. Wine had been kept.
An early influence of Mycenaean culture on southern Italy from the late 15th century BC. BC is proven by numerous imports, but reliable, indisputable evidence of a permanent Greek presence in Italy only exists from the 8th century BC. In the north the Etruscans already cultivated extensive viticulture in an area that corresponds to today's Tuscany. For the Greeks, wine was already part of everyday culture and they viewed it as a profitable commodity. At the same time they brought viticulture to the new settlements they had created. In the south of the Italian peninsula in particular, they found ideal conditions and named the area Oenotria (land of wine).
The rise of Rome to a kingdom and later to a republic took place primarily through the incorporation of conquered territories. Roman viticulture benefited from the experience of the local winemakers. The Greek settlements in the south of today's Italy were established until 270 BC. Completely subdued. The Etruscans, who had already built up a trade network as far as Gaul, were born in the 1st century BC. Defeated BC. The Punic War with Carthage had a great indirect influence on Roman viticulture. In addition to expanding the cultural horizons, the Romans came into possession of Mago's writings. The 26 books of Mago were published in 146 BC. Translated into Latin and Greek. Pliny, Columella, Varro and Gargilius Martialis borrowed time and again in their works.
The Golden age
For several centuries, Greek wine enjoyed great esteem. The local products were much cheaper. Only in the 2nd century BC The first-class production sites of the Roman Empire peeled off. The year 121 BC BC, the year in which Lucius Opimius was consul , enjoyed an outstanding reputation in literature. In addition to a lush harvest, the wines were very long-lived. Pliny the Elder described the first plants of that time in detail. The quality of the wine was attributed solely to the grape variety and the vintage. From the records of that time the communities Genuense (today's Genoa ), Raeticum (near Verona , Veneto), Mutinense (today's Modena ), Lunense (area near Carrara ), Patavinum (today's Padua ), Adrianum, Faventinum, Praetutium ( Wine from Ancona ), Spoletinum, Graviscanum, Caeres, Sabinum (wine from the Sabina region , Latium ), Picens, Tiburtinum, Nomentanum, Aequicum, Vaticanum, Setinum, Signinum, Veliternum, Ardeas, Fundanum, Caecubum , Falernum , Faustianum, Literninum, Surrentinum, Paelignum, Carseolanum, Marsum, Aricinum, Sulmoniense, Caucinianum, Statianum, Caulinum, Massum, Pompejanum, Labicanum, Albanum, Praenestinum, Formianum, Trebellicanum, Gauranum (wine from Monte Gauro in Campania), Beneventanum, Geminianum, Beneventanum, Geminianum Tarentinum (today's Taranto ), Lagaritanum, Thurinum, Consentinum and Reginum known. In Sicily the communities Aluntinum, Mesopotamium, Mamertinum, Potitianum, Tauromenitanum, Catieniense and Adrumenitanum are known. At the height of the golden age, consumption was estimated at 1.8 million hectoliters; enough to supply every citizen (including the children) with half a liter of wine per day.
Pompeii
Pompeii , located in the south of Naples , was one of the leading cultivation centers of the Roman Empire. The region's winegrowers supplied not only the capital, but also the Roman provinces. The archaeologists found amphorae with the stamps of Pompeii traders near Bordeaux , Narbonne , Toulouse and in Spain. Due to the high popularity of the wines of this region, it can be assumed that wine from Pompeii was not always exported in the amphorae.
The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 had far-reaching consequences for the supply of wine and viticulture. The vineyards on Vesuvius were destroyed and the goods from the vintage 78 were buried under the lava flows. The balance between supply and demand was permanently disturbed, as the port for unloading goods from the provinces was no longer accessible. The price of the wine rose dramatically. The drink, which actually belonged to the everyday culture of the Romans, was only available to the wealthy residents. As a result, several new vineyards were created. Because of the high prices for wine, even grain fields were given up and converted into vineyards. After only a few years, this led to an oversupply of wine with correspondingly falling prices. What was worse, however, was the shortage of grain. In 92, therefore, Emperor Domitian issued an edict that prohibited the establishment of new vineyards in Rome. He also ordered that half of the vineyards in the provinces be cleared. Obviously, compliance with the second measure was hardly checked. The edict remained in application for 188 years and was not repealed until Probus in 280.
The extension of the vineyards to the provinces
One of the influences of Roman rule in the provinces that has continued to have an impact today is the introduction of a well-established viticulture and extensive wine trade. The Roman settlements were built and inhabited by former soldiers. Many of these soldiers grew up in Italy in families who were already involved in viticulture. The soldiers used their knowledge and planted vineyards near the settlements. Although Italian and Greek vines were imported, the settlers also used local grape varieties.
With the rise of the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire, the logistical effort and complexity of the wine trade increased. The wines of the Italian peninsula enjoyed an excellent reputation throughout the empire. The plants from Pompeii enjoyed a special position. From the 1st century BC The first wine-growing regions of the provinces exported to Rome.
The middle age
The collapse of the Roman Empire did not put an end to viticulture, but the decline meant the end of the market for fine quality wines. The situation in the time when the Goths and then the Lombards ruled Italy is similar to that of 400 years earlier. Wine was widely seen as an important element of self-sufficiency, with the main focus on quantity rather than quality.
The early Middle Ages are a time of stagnation in which trade is only of very regional importance. This period of standstill was not broken until the 11th century, when Northern Italy with Genoa and Venice rose to become the politically and economically most important region in Europe. In the next three centuries, Italy's population doubled to eight million. The inhabitants of the country moved to cities, particularly in northern Italy. As a result, there is a clear separation between agricultural activity and trade. South of Florence, however, this urban escape does not take place, so that in regions like Tuscany there is a feudal system with both activities (agriculture and trade).
The reason for the strength of Northern Italy is the monopoly in the trade of luxury goods (wine, wool , silk ) across Europe. When it became possible to work with credit , Florence became the banking capital of Europe. The Antinori house , which is still known today, dates from this time and invested in the wine business in Tuscany with profits from the banking sector and also acquired large estates.
Individual evidence
- ^ Lorenzo Tondo: Traces of 6,000-year-old wine discovered in Sicilian cave. In: The Guardian . August 30, 2017, accessed December 4, 2018 .
- ↑ Fundamental to Mycenaean ceramics in Italy: Lord William Taylour: Mycenaean Pottery in Italy and adjacent areas. Cambridge 1958, pp. 81ff .; to other objects and their time position z. B. Reinhard Jung: ΧΡΟΝΟΛΟΓΙΑ COMPARATA. Comparative chronology of southern Greece and southern Italy from approx. 1700/1600 to 1000 BCE Vienna 2006. ISBN 978-3-7001-3729-0 .
- ^ N. Purcell: Wine and Wealth in Ancient Italy. In: The Journal of Roman Studies . 75, 1985, p. 8. (English)
- ^ Lionel Casson: The Ancient Mariners. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey 1991, p. 200. (English)