History of cannabis in Italy

Images depicting (A) a cannabis plant illustration from a 14th-century medical treatise, kept at the Biblioteca Casanatense in Rome; (B) the remains of an open-air tank previously used for the retting of hemp stalks in Cercenasco, Piedmont; (C) a museum room dedicated to traditional hemp-processing tools in Lazio; (D) an 18th-century silk-embroidered hemp curtain from Tuscany; (E) the Cave of the Ropemakers in Sicily in 1900; and (F) a 30-gun Venetian light frigate returning from the Levant.

The cultivation of cannabis in Italy has a long history dating back to Roman times, when it was primarily used to produce hemp ropes, although pollen records from core samples show that Cannabaceae plants were present in the Italian peninsula since at least the Late Pleistocene, while the earliest evidence of their use dates back to the Bronze Age. For a long time after the fall of Rome in the 5th century A.D., the cultivation of hemp, although present in several Italian regions, mostly consisted in small-scale productions aimed at satisfying the local needs for fabrics and ropes.^[1] Known as canapa in Italian, the historical ubiquity of hemp is reflected in the different variations of the name given to the plant in the various regions, including canape, càneva, canava, and canva (or canavòn for female plants) in northern Italy; canapuccia and canapone in the Po Valley; cànnavo in Naples; cànnavu in Calabria; cannavusa and cànnavu in Sicily; cànnau and cagnu in Sardinia.^[1]

The mass cultivation of industrial cannabis for the production of hemp fiber in Italy really took off during the period of the Maritime Republics and the Age of Sail, due to its strategic importance for the naval industry. In particular, two main economic models were implemented between the 15th and 19th centuries for the cultivation of hemp, and their primary differences essentially derived from the diverse relationships between landowners and hemp producers.^[2] The Venetian model was based on a state monopoly system, by which the farmers had to sell the harvested hemp to the Arsenal at an imposed price, in order to ensure preferential, regular, and advantageous supplies of the raw material for the navy, as a matter of national security.^[2] Such system was particularly developed in the southern part of the province of Padua, which was under the direct control of the administrators of the Arsenal.^[2] Conversely, the Emilian model, which was typical of the provinces of Bologna and Ferrara, was strongly export-oriented and it was based on the mezzadria farming system by which, for instance, Bolognese landowners could relegate most of the production costs and risks to the farmers, while also keeping for themselves the largest share of the profits.^[2]

From the 18th century onwards, hemp production in Italy established itself as one of the most important industries at an international level, with the most productive areas being located in Emilia-Romagna, Campania, and Piedmont.^[1] The well renowned and flourishing Italian hemp sector continued well after the unification of the country in 1861, only to experience a sudden decline during the second half of the 20th century, with the introduction of synthetic fibers and the start of the war on drugs, and only recently it is slowly experiencing a resurgence.