Italian Historical Population Database

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Introduction

Reconstructing rural and urban populations across Italy to study the demographic history of nineteenth and twentieth-century Italy at the individual and family level.

Shortname

IHPD

IDS compatible

Period

1796 - 1883

Territory

Casalguidi (Tuscany) and Madregolo (Emilia), Italy

Contact information

Location

Parma – Udine – Sassari

Contact Persons

Marco Breschi

breschi@dss.uniud.it

Scope / Status

Original goal

Reconstructing rural and urban populations across Italy to study the demographic history of nineteenth and twentieth-century Italy at the individual and family level.

Sample definition

It is not a sample. The sources cover the entire population throughout the period analyzed.

Geographic area under observation

Madregolo and Casalguidi are two sharecropping populations located, respectively, in Emilia, close to Parma, and in Tuscany, close to Pistoia and Florence. Madregolo is a small rural village whose territory is completely flat and crossed by an important river. Casalguidi is a small town (2,500 inhabitants per year) placed in a flat terrain but with some hilly stretches.

Realized parts

Reconstruction of two sharecropping rural villages during the 19th century, Casalguidi (Tuscany) and Madregolo (Emilia).

Sources

From year	End year	Source	Explanation
1796	1883	Baptisms	Casalguidi 1818-59
1796	1883	Marriages from church registers	Casalguidi 1818-59
1796	1883	Burials	Casalguidi 1818-59
1796	1883	Census	Casalguidi 1819-59. In both cases, they are Religious censuses recorded on annual basis called 'Status Animarum'.
1819	1859	Family Tax Register	Only for Casalguidi.
1799	1883	Market Price Register	Casalguidi 1819-59.

Observations

Units of observation

Unit of observation	Explanation	Number
Individuals	All individuals who spent at least 1 year in the village(s).	17,000
Married couples	All couples who spent at least 1 year in the village(s) regardless where they got married.	4,500
Households	Per year.	550

Are there any related observations that are not included in the database?

Birth, death and marriage acts do report information on parents, spouse (death act), godfather (birth act), bridesmen and groomsmaids (marriage act). Parish censuses ('Status Animarum') report information on father’s ego.

How do the units of observation enter observation?

By birth, immigration or at the beginning of observation period (1819 for Casalguidi, 1797 for Madregolo).

How do the units of observation leave observation?

By death, emigration or at the end of observation period (1859 for Casalguidi, 1883 for Madregolo).

Dates estimated

At least the year of event is always known.

Are some entry or exit dates unknown?

At least the year of event is always known.

Can observations be linked to geographic locations?

Are the dates and locations of movements within the observation area recorded?

Partly

Are all individuals who lived in the households of sample members recorded?

Yes

Variables

Events

Type	Dated	Explanation
Birth	Partly	'Yes' for those born in the parish in the period studied, 'Partly' for those born elsewhere or born before the period of analysis.
Marriage	Partly	'Yes' for those marriages celebrated in the parish in the period studied, 'Partly' for those celebrated in the bride’s parish in the period studied, 'No' for immigrant couples and couples married before the period of analysis.
Death	Partly	'Yes' for those individuals dead in the parish in the period studied, 'No' for those who emigrated.
Migration	Partly	Only indirectly by analysis of two consecutive 'Stati Animarum'.
Household headship takeover	Partly
Mobility	Partly	Movements of individuals among households living in the parish.

Kinship relations

Recording

By a numeric double-digit code. The first number identifies the person whom the ego is in relationship with (according to the household member list in the 'Status Animarum'), while the second number identifies the type of relationship (wife, son, aunt, grandparent, etc.). For example, a code 1-3 informs us that the ego is the child (3) of the household head (1).

Depth of information

Usually three.

Comparability

There are deep differences in the availability of individual data.

Publications

Publications - N/A

European Historical Population Samples Network

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