Snippets from the Italian Scene
Changing the laws in Alto Adige
Moving in a different direction, inheritance is one of the major problems that besets farmers throughout the world: How to divvy up the land among children in such a manner that all will be able to farm and support themselves? The obvious answer is to limit succession in one way or another, so as to keep the farms large enough to be viable, and indeed the farmers of the Alto Adige have followed this custom for generations, passing their farms onto their oldest sons (who then have to decide what to do with younger brothers and unmarried sisters). However, this is changing; the Provincial Government of Bolzano has recently introduced a law stating that the heir will be the oldest child, not the oldest male child. Therefore, women will begin to inherit farms too. Traditionalists may see this as a loss, but I think it will likely help hold communities together.
A presto,
Kyle Phillips
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