Social Class in Mid-Eighteenth Century Calabria, Italy: A Case Study Using Data from Catasto Onciario of 1742

Katherine M. Condon, Independent Researcher

This paper will examine results from four towns in the southern Italian region of Calabria under the Catasto Onciario law of 1742 to reconstruct aspects of social class that existed in this region. This Catasto was aimed at remedying the chaotic system of taxation in the Kingdom of Naples in the mid-eighteenth century by evaluating the possessions/revenues of citizens for a "fairer" taxing of households. The Catasto included information about each member of a household including name, relationship to head of household, occupation or condition, and age. In addition to demographic information, there are economic details on household assets and revenues. This paper will examine household size, household composition, and occupation of householders, as well as a report on a preliminary examination of cluster analysis results of the taxable registered property of the household by occupation of head of household.