Abstract

The article illustrates the major features of the development of Italian agriculture from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present. It is argued that such development has been characterized by dualism. At the structural level dualism refers to the existence of a large number of small and very small farms, a limited number of medium-sized farms, and the presence of a very small segment of large farms that control the bulk of agricultural production and sales. Structural dualism in Italy is accompanied by regional dualism, which refers to the sharply different characteristics of the agriculture of the north and that of the south. In the northern regions the most productive and advanced farms are concentrated, while in the south smaller and less viable units are present. Dualism has created serious contradictions in Italian society, which have not been resolved with the further integration of the country's agricultural sector into the European Community