Estate and Class in a South Italian Hill Village

The traditional pattern of stratification in South Italy exhibits a high degree of linkage to pre-existing feudal forms. The village of Cortina d'Aglie differs from much of the South in that there is a well-established pattern of individual local land ownership. The problem is to ascertain & explain the relationship of individual landownership to the existing class system of the village. Demographic & ecological data from municipal records, as well as focussed interviewing & a modified version of Warner's Evaluated Participation technique were used to establish the local system of stratification. Analysis of local history reveals long-standing feuds & rivalries between the 2 parishes. Within & between the parishes there is a system of soc stratification which is not unlike the soc systems which stem from the feudal order. Deep clefts separate the strata within the village & define the distribution of power & prestige. Though the conditions which brought this hierarchy into existence no longer obtain, the basic structures exist. The factors which contribute to this culture lag are analysed in the light of a system undergoing change from a feudal estate to class orientation. AA.