Fishing and fish consumption in Early Modern Lombardy (16th-19th centuries): an example of social, nutritional, and environmental transformation

Abstract

The paper traces the history of inland wetlands, often judged by historians on par­adigms influenced by the history of land reclamation and hydraulic engineering. In effect in the 18th century, these environments underwent a process of anthropization and marginalization because they were considered an obstacle to major reclamation projects, especially within the Physiocratic perspective of agricultural development. Soon, aquatic customs and traditions, the result of centuries-old adaptations to the wetland environment, declined rapidly and irreversibly. Freshwater fishing and the consumption of fish, which had been an essential food source for centuries, dis­appeared. This historical process highlighted the conflicts between the territorial policies pursued by political and economic elites and the habits and customs of the population, especially in rural areas, and allows, at least in part, to reinterpret the historical, economic, and environmental evolution of the Po Valley in the Early modern age.