Walker - 1967 - A geography of Italy

PART III: REGIONAL G E O G R A P H Y
prewar settlement schemes totalling some 53,000 hectares and adapt them to its
purposes; in addition 48,000 hectares were appropriated under the stralcio law.
In all 3000 poderi and 700 quote have been created. The variable quality o f the
land available is reflected in the sizes o f the poderii some are only 5 hectares
while in mountain land 50 may be needed to provide a viable holding. Inevitably
the main effort is in the Campidano but evidence o f E T F A S ’s activity can be
seen in most parts o f the island.
Although the vast majority o f Sardinians are dependent on the land, the island
makes only a very small contribution to Italy’s total agricultural production and
exports. It is a significant producer o f cork, wool and sheep cheese, but it normally
accounts for only about 4% o f Italy’s wine and 2% o f her oil; in good
years there is a modest export o f wheat to the mainland for pasta making. The
main features o f the land-use are summarized in the table below; in interpreting
TABLE I
THE RELIEF ZONES AND LAND-USE IN SARDINIA AND SICILY
Sicily
Sardinia
u .
il.
Total area (hectares) 2>570,785 2,408,934
Percentage mountain 24-6 137
» hill 6i -3 679
plain I4 -I 181
Percentage cereals 26-4 9-6
yy forage crops 9 1 2-2
yy other rotated crops 21-3 200
yy tree crops 227 4-0
yy permanent pasture 9.7 39-8
yy woodland 5 1 13-3
yy fallow 1-7 6 7
yy other uses 5-7 4-4
it it should be borne in mind that permanent pasture in Sardinia usually means
garrigue or steppe where there is insufficient soil for even the most meagre crop;
that the yields are low in the cultivated area and methods are still primitive; and
that much o f the land classed as woodland is little better than scrub.
The low overall density o f population (59 per sq km) tends to obscure the state
o f nural overpopulation which exists in much o f the island; emigration to the
‘mainland’ and overseas (recently to Australia) has long been a tradition. No
doubt the many projects undertaken since the war will make a real contribution
but there is obviously a limit to what can be achieved along these lines. Unfortunately
Sardinia’s industrial prospects are not outstanding; its hydro-electric
resources are really quite small (1% o f Italy’s capacity) and the lignite o f Sulcis
is an expensive source o f energy. Water is everywhere a problem, and although
Sardinia is Italy’s most important mineral region, it is indicative of the island’s
colonial status that the majority o f the output is processed and used on the mainland.
Apart from lignite the most notable items are lead, zinc and silver (Iglesiente
and La Nurra), and iron from La Nurra and S. Leone (north o f Cagliari). Other
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