The relations between owners and tillers of the soil are still regulated by the ancient forms of agrarian contract, which have remained almost untouched by social and political changes. The possibility of reforming these contracts in some parts of the kingdom has been studied, in the hope of bringing them into closer harmony with the needs of rational cultivation and the exigencies of social justice.
Peasant proprietorship is most common in Lombardy and Piedmont, but it is also found elsewhere. Large farms are found in certain of the more open districts; but in Italy generally, and especially in Sardinia, the land is very much subdivided. The following forms of contract are most usual in the several regions: In Piedmont the _mezzadria_ (_métayage_), the _terzieria_, the _colonia parziaria_, the _boaria_, the _schiavenza_ and the _affitto_, or lease, are most usual. Under _mezzadria_ the contract generally lasts three years. Products are usually divided in equal proportions between the owner and the tiller. The owner pays the taxes, defrays the cost of preparing the ground, and provides the necessary implements. Stock usually belongs to the owner, and, even if kept on the half-and-half system, is usually bought by him. The peasant, or _mezzadro_, provides labour. Under _terzieria_ the owner furnishes stock, implements and seed, and the tiller retains only one-third of the principal products. In the _colonia parziaria_ the peasant executes all the agricultural work, in return for which he is housed rent-free, and receives one-sixth of the corn, one-third of the maize and has a small money wage. This contract is usually renewed from year to year. The _boaria_ is widely diffused in its two forms of _cascina fatta_ and _paghe_. In the former case a peasant family undertakes all the necessary work in return for payment in money or kind, which varies according to the crop; in the latter the money wages and the payment in kind are fixed beforehand. _Schiavenza_, either simple or with a share in the crops, is a form of contract similar to the _boaria_, but applied principally to large holdings. The wages are lower than under the _boaria_. In the _affitto_, or lease, the proprietor furnishes seed and the implements. Rent varies according to the quality of the soil.