This is a synthesis of the agricultural history of Italy in its economic, social and ecological context, from antiquity to the mid-20th century. From his perspective in the Italian tradition of cultural Marxism, the author guides the reader through the changes that have affected the agriculture and economy of the regions of Italy, as well as through the successes and failures of farmers and technicians in antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution. He describes attempts by successive generations to adapt Italy's natural environment for the purposes of agriculture and to respond to its changing ecological problems.