156 Bresc
were short-lived and included the thirteenth-century vineyards of Cefalù,
Patti, Messina, and Catania, and cotton from the Terranova plain in the four-
teenth century. The only export that proved to be an indisputable success was
the sugar from Palermo and the coastal plains, which left the island in the late
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. However, the cultivation of sugar destroyed
the fertility of the soil and the extent of its geographic expansion would be-
come the mirror image of its negative effects.
The only long-lasting and geographically stable exception in terms of Sicilian
exports was the very successful breeding of silkworms that took place in
Valdemone towards the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The production
of raw silk was an extension of Calabria; it was sold for manufacture in Genoa.
This success stands in sharp contrast to the movement of the other goods off
the island, but neither of these regions became a permanent industrial outlet.
In addition to the exports mentioned above, Sardinia is rich in the raw
materials that were in demand during each phase of the Middle Ages.28 In
this way, Sardinia readily conforms to the model of specialization—in min-
ing—developed by Horden and Purcell. In addition to the silver mines of the
Iglesiente, Sardinia exported coral, for which Marseilles obtained the privilege
from the ephemeral King Enzo in 1254. The salt of Cagliari was another export
that reached a highpoint in 1359–1360 (4,500 tons), before collapsing after 1378
as a result of a labor scarcity (the Catalan conquerors killed the Sardinians that
maintained salt production, according to the account by the treasurer of the
salt tax: “Havem morts tots los Sards”).29
Although sea salt was produced early on in Sicily (the salines of Trapani,
Marsala, Syracuse, and the Messina promontory were noted as early as the
twelfth century), it was not destined for export and remained subject to the
ongoing hegemony of the rock salts mined in Cammarata and Nicosia. It was
not until the fifteenth century that interest in salt production would result in
the opening new saltworks at Trapani, the Capo Passero, Augusta, and in the
Marsala Stagnone.30 In fact, Sicily imported some salt from Sardinia.31
28 Jean-Michel Poisson, “La Sardaigne productrice de matières précieuses au Moyen Âge.
État des questions et projets d’enquêtes,” Mélanges de l’École française de Rome, Moyen
Âge 120:1 (2008), pp. 159–171.
29 Robert-Henri Bautier, “Le sel de Sardaigne et l’activité portuaire de Cagliari. Quelques
données chiffrées (1349–1417),” in Le Rôle du sel dans l’histoire, ed. Michel Mollat (Paris,
1968), pp. 203–225.
30 Bresc, Un Monde méditerranéen, p. 221.
31 ASP Biblioteca Manoscritti Notaio B. Citella 127b (5 May 1309). ASP Corte Pretoriana,
Esecuzioni 3986. Archivio di Stato, Trapani (AST), Not. Scanatello 177 (15 August 1419).