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territory consisting of large areas of infertile soil between 1800 and 2000 metres above
sea-level. The slopes were extremely steep and wooded or rocky and severe flooding
regularly contributed to the sweeping away of fields and farms on what little
cultivatable land there was. The canton of Ticino had introduced few of the
developments resulting from the Industrial Revolution and the people, with their poor
soils, lack of irrigation and crop rotation skills had remained poor and isolated.^'* Their
chief crops included potatoes, rye, com, chestnuts and grapes and many kept a few
cows or goats. Living in these harsh lands, the people of Ticino and northem Italy
had, however, developed many skills which helped them to survive. Their existence
depended on an interplay of land, labour and the family home and, by manipulating
these three resources, the peasant farmers were able to provide most needs. Critical to
the process was an understanding, common to all family members, of how to harness
the land and cope with the enviromnent. To this end, the young and the old, the men
and the women knew how to build and mend things, constmct walls, doors, fiimiture
and fences and make their own clothes and shoes.'^^ They were economical with their
food and could dry rabbit and hare skins and use all parts of a pig. They were
inventive and able to use things a second and third time. They had a total
understanding of the care of animals and crops. Their homes were small factories
where all necessities were produced and repaired. Although (or perhaps because) they
were poor and in some cases illiterate, the Ticinesi had a masterly understanding of
their environment.
The northem Italians lived in a similar life-style, rooted to small patches of land
from which they had to provide everything:
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