La gestione delle risorse boschive nelle Alpi orientali. Le imprese e i loro ruoli (secoli XVI-XVIII)

Woodland Management in the Eastern Alps in the Early Modern Period. The role of the Firms This essay is devoted to the eastern Alpine area, among the region best known for the history of forest resources. With a wide and diversified demand for timber for its industries (Arsenal, glassworks, mint) and early forestry legislation, Venice conditioned ways and times of supplying this resource, imported even from outside its borders. In the pre-industrial age, the area between Tyrol and Friuli constituted a basin capable of satisfying multiple needs in the Adriatic and Mediterranean emporiums. The many natural constraints of forests and river routes imposed a supply chain fragmentation that involved many workers' employment. These activities were mainly dependent on environmental and climatic conditions and required large amounts of capital and the technical skills of specialized personnel. They were organized around kinship networks and family firms, which could constitute a precondition for preserving/maintaining investments in the field.