A variety of units of measurement were used in the various independent Italian states and Italian dependencies of foreign empires up to the unification of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in the 19th century. The units to measure length, volume, mass, etc., could differ widely between countries or between towns in a country (e.g. Rome and Ancona), but usually not between a country and its capital. The Kingdom of Sardinia included the island of Sardinia and the continental areas of Piedmont (with the capital Turin) and Liguria (with Genoa). The

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

included the island of Sicily (with Palermo). The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was part of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

, which also shared ruling family with Modena,

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second m ...

and

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

(capital Florence). The

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

included the areas of

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil ( Old Latium) on w ...

(with the capital Rome),

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

Romagna Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to th ...

(with Bologna) and

the Marches Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to th ...

(with Ancona). Tabella conversione metrica 1860 MG 7771

Milan adopted the

metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that succeeded the decimalised system based on the metre that had been introduced in France in the 1790s. The historical development of these systems culminated in the definition of the Intern ...

in 1803, during the

Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

, albeit reusing names of older units. After the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...

, the various Italian states reverted to their original systems of measurements. In 1845 Sardinia passed legislation to introduce the metric system within five years. In 1859 Lombardy (but not Venetia) was annexed. In 1860 Parma, Modena, Tuscany, Umbria, Romagna and the Marches, and the Two Sicilies (Naples) were assimilated into Sardinia and under the ''Law 132 of 28 July 28, 1861'' the metric system became the official system of measurement throughout the (this year) Italian kingdom. The last to be incorporated were Venetia (1866), and the rest of the Papal States (1870). For historical Roman measurements see Ancient Roman units of measurement. The following is a list of units before the adoption of the metric system as well as local names for metric-based units. Over time many unit names were reused for metric units, adding an unnecessary obstacle to the system change. These units are marked with ^€. They are also placed after the traditional.

Length

Units varied from one province or city to another. In the north the atomo was the smallest unit. Dedicated use: # architect's † commercial ‡ mercer's

Mass

One libbra (pound) differed between 307 and 398 g. Several countries used both a light and a heavy pound. Dedicated use: # gold ∆ silver § jewels † apothecaries' ‡ silk @ spices, drugs and pigments ¥ commercial ¢ oil ship cargoes: Σ grain flour etc § salt

Area

Dedicated use: # architect's

Volume (dry)

Dry and wet capacity (volume) were usually two separate systems, but a few units were universally handled, mostly in countries that had had experience with the metric system. (One of the sources do not state what subsystem they are handling). Dedicated use: # firewood † grain ‡ salt ∆ oats and legumes Σ coal

Volume (liquids)

There are also a unit cantara: no specifics. Dedicated use: # wine † spirits ‡ oil

Notes

References

{{Systems of measurement Italian culture