![Siena as Representative Rural Region or Archetype?
35
© OECD 2002
ers, confirm the central role that demonstrable competence plays in aligning the
seemingly contradictory objectives of co-operation and competition. Inside an
industrial district it is not enough to simply “build a better mousetrap” and collect
any deserved acclaim in the market. Instead, collective tests of capability through
sub-contractor or co-production relations both solidify inter-firm co-operation and
prod a controlled competition – within as well as between firms. Market tests will
ultimately determine the monetary value of this capability serving as a comple-
ment to the collective test. The important point is that there is a social valuation
of capability independent of its economic valuation:
“The common solution [for the reconciliation of competition and co-operation and regenera-
tion of resources required by the collectivity] is the fusion of productive activity, in the narrow
sense, with the larger life of the community. The same experiences that teach people who
they are teach them skills to acquire; how to collaborate; and what they may not do in their
competition for honour in the community.” (Piore and Sabel, 1984, p. 275)
As a province that already enjoys low unemployment and high income, the
challenges in Siena are ill-defined with respect to the traditional preoccupations
of rural development. A focus on augmenting the capabilities of citizens as both
an end and means of development – in many ways parallel to augmenting the
capabilities of workers in an industrial district – provides a clearer vision than
incremental additions to the conventional indicators of income or job creation.
Reinforcing this ambition are the ongoing discussions regarding the sustainable
use of territorial capital linked to strategic planning, suggesting an ideal laboratory
for elaborating this emerging vision of development. Indeed, this view of develop-
ment that is more inclusive than a concern solely with economic outcomes is
implicit in the debates regarding the impacts of infrastructure investment on the
territory or, for that matter, the platitudes of sustainable development. Envision-
ing the public concern regarding development as an increased “ability to lead the
lives they have reason to value” (Sen, 1999) would provide debatable criteria for
assessing the efficacy of proposed programming and policy. Unfortunately, the
confirming market test that is provided in the industrial district model is not
readily available. In this respect, the rural dimensions of the province in combina-
tion with a “Tuscan way of thinking” that gives public consultation a privileged role
are critical to the pragmatic application of these criteria. Development objectives
directed to enlarging human capability would give clearer definition to the value
of, say, expanding the feasible reproductive choices of families, or of being a
farmer, or of preserving cultural heritage.
New requirements of governance
The preceding discussion makes explicit the tacit motivation that has helped
direct the new tools for planning and development: planning and development](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-41-320.jpg)
![escapes them not. They are angry, terrible deities; they punish those
who do not honour the gods; they avenge falsehood and sin. But to
those who serve them, they forgive their transgressions. Varuna,
whose special duty it is to punish the offences of men, is entreated
in the hymns, with the greatest earnestness, to pardon transgression
and sin. In the conception of the hymns of the Rigveda, he is the
highest lord of heaven and earth. In the waters of heaven he dwells
in a golden coat of mail, in his spacious golden house with a
thousand doors. He has shown to the sun his path; he has
excavated their beds for the rivers, and causes them to flow into the
sea; his breath sounds with invigorating force through the breezes.
He knows the way of the winds, and the flight of birds, and the
course of ships on the sea. He knows all things in heaven, on earth,
and under the earth. Even he who would fly further than the sky
extends is not beyond his power. He numbers the glances of the
eyes of men; where two men sit together and converse, king Varuna
is a third among them.[97] He knows the truth and falsehood of
men; he knows their thoughts, and watches them as a herdman his
herd. His coils, threefold and sevenfold, embrace them who speak
lies. "May he remain unscathed by them who speak truth," is the
prayer of the invocations. "Was it for an old sin, Varuna," we read in
a prayer, "that thou wishest to destroy thy friend, who praises thee?
Absolve us from the sins of our fathers, and from those which we
committed with our own bodies. Release Vasishtha, O king, like a
thief who has feasted on stolen oxen; release him like a calf from
the rope. It was not our own doing that led us astray, O Varuna, it
was necessity (or temptation), an intoxicating draught, passion, dice,
thoughtlessness. The old is there to mislead the young; even sleep
brings unrighteousness. Through want of strength, thou strong and
bright god, have I gone wrong: have mercy, almighty, have mercy. I
go along trembling, like a cloud driven before the wind; let not us
guilty ones reap the fruit of our sin. Let me not yet enter into the
house of clay, king Varuna. Protect, O wise god, him who praises
thee. Whenever we men, O Varuna, commit an offence before the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-56-320.jpg)
![heavenly host, whenever we break the law through thoughtlessness,
have mercy, almighty, have mercy."[98]
The chief offering which the Aryas made to the spirits of the sky,
was of ancient origin; even before they entered the land of the
Indus, at the time when they were one nation with their fellow-
tribesmen of Iran—this libation had been established. It was a drink-
offering, the juice of a mountain plant, the soma, or haoma of the
Irans, which they offered. The expressed sap of this plant, which is
the asclepias acida of our botanists, mixed with milk, narcotic and
intoxicating, was to the Arya the strongest, most exhilarating liquor,
a drink fit for their gods. According to the Rigveda, a tamed falcon
brought the soma from the summit of the sky, or from the tops of
the mountains, where Varuna had placed it. The drink of the soma
inspires the songs of the poet, heals the sick, prolongs life, and
makes the poor believe themselves rich. The rites of preparing the
soma were already widely developed when the songs of the Rigveda
over the offering were composed. The sacrificial vessels were
washed out with kuça-grass, and with "the sacred word," i. e. with
traditional forms of words. The plants of the soma—according to the
rubrics of later times, they are to be collected by moonlight on the
hills,[99]—were crushed between stones. In the Veda we are told
that the suppliants "squeeze the soma with stones." The liquor thus
obtained was then strained through a sieve, with songs and
incantations. The sieve appears to have been made out of the hairs
of a ram's tail, and the juice is pressed through it with the ten
sisters, i. e. with the fingers; "it rushes to the milk as fiercely as the
bull to the cow." The sound of the drops of the golden fluid falling
into the metal vessels is the roaring of the bulls, the neighing of the
horses of Indra, "the hymn of praise, which the song of the minstrel
accompanies."[100] The drink thus prepared was then placed in the
sacrificial vessel, on outspread, delicate grass, over which was laid a
cloth. Then the Açvins, Vayu, the Maruts, Indra were invoked to
descend, to place themselves at the sacrificial cloth, and drink the
draught prepared for them. According to the faith of the Aryas, Indra](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-57-320.jpg)
![in drinking, so does Indra drink courage from the sacrificial goblet. If
Indra is to give wealth and blessing, if he is to fight victoriously his
ever-recurring struggle against Vritra and Ahi, to win the fructifying
moisture, and contend in the ranks of the tribe, the "honey-sweet"
soma must be prepared for him without ceasing, he must be invoked
to harness his horses, and place himself at the meal of the sacrifice,
and exhilarate himself with the drink prepared for him; in his
exhilaration, victory over the demons is certain; he will fight
invincibly before the ranks of his friends. His enemies, we are told of
Indra, he overcomes in the inspiration of the soma. "Drink, Indra, of
the soma like a wise man, delighting thyself in the mead; it is good
for exhilaration. Come down, Indra, who art truly a bull, and drink
thyself full; drink the most inspiring of drinks. The intoxicating drink
of the rich gives bulls."[101] By the side of conceptions such as this,
the invocation praises the lofty power, the sublime nature of the
gods, in moving images, which attempt, to the utmost degree, to
glorify the power of the god to whom they are addressed. They
elevate him and his power above the other gods, and concentrate
the divine action in the deity to whom the prayer or thanksgiving is
made, at the expense of his divine compeers. The object was to win
by prayer and sacrifice the grace of the deity who was invoked. In
this manner Agni, Surya, Indra, Mitra, and Varuna are celebrated as
the highest deities. Of Indra we are told that none of the gods is like
him; that none can contend with him; that before him, the
thunderer, all worlds tremble. He is the lord of all; the king of the
firm land and flowing water; his power has set up the ancient hills,
and causes the streams to flow; he sustains the earth, the nourisher
of all; he has created the sky, the sun, the dawn; he has fixed the
lights of the sky; should he desire to take up both worlds—the
heaven and earth—it would be but a handful for him. Who of the
seers of old has seen the limits of his power?[102] As we have
observed, the form of the mighty storm-god which grew up in the
land of the Indus, had driven back the ancient forms of Mitra and
Varuna, and thus the minstrels found a strong tendency to unite in
the mighty warrior, the thunderer, the sum total of divine power. But](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-59-320.jpg)
![Mitra and Varuna were not forgotten; and as the warlike life fell into
the back-ground, and the impulse to seize the unity of the divine
nature became stronger, these ancient forms were in their turn more
easily idealized, and framed into a higher ethical conception than
was possible with the peculiarly warlike nature of Indra. In the songs
of praise addressed to Varuna, which have been quoted, it is
impossible not to see the effort to concentrate in him as the highest
god the highest divine power.
If in the conception of the gods in the Veda we find besides
sensuous views important ethical elements, and traits transcending
sense, we also find in the worship of the Aryas, in the relation of
man to the gods, a certain simplicity coexisting with sharply defined
ethical perception. Men pray to the gods for protection against the
evil spirits, for the preservation and increase of the herd, for help in
sickness, and long life, for victory in battle. It is allowed that
sacrifices are offered in order to obtain treasures and wealth. Indra
is to "give gift for gift;" he is to send wealth "so that one may wade
therein to the knee." From this the god will obtain his advantage in
turn; if Indra gives horses, chariots and bulls, sacrifices will be
offered without ceasing.[103] Like flies round a jar of honey, we are
told in another place, do the suppliants sit round the bowl of the
offering; as a man sets his foot in the chariot, so does the host of
minstrels longing for treasure place their confidence in Indra.[104] In
a hymn, the minstrel says to Indra: "If I were the lord of cattle,
master of such wealth as thou art, Indra, then would I assist the
minstrel; I would not leave him in need."[105] But, on the other
hand, it is emphatically stated that Indra rejects the wicked, as a
man spurns a toadstool with his foot;[106] that no evil is concealed
from Mitra and Varuna. It is left to Indra to give to the sacrificer
whatever he considers best and most valuable; he is entreated to
instruct the sacrificer, to give him wisdom, as a father to his child.
[107] Stress is laid on the fact that sacrifice can remove a multitude
of sins, and purify him who offers it, and we saw how earnestly
Varuna was invoked to forgive the guilt that had been incurred.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-60-320.jpg)
![The naïve conception that the god drank vigour and courage out of
the sacrificial bowl is developed among the Aryas in a very peculiar
manner. From this fact they derived the idea that the sacrifice gave
power to the gods generally to increase their strength; that the gods
"grew" by prayer and sacrifice. Thus we read: "The suppliants,
extolling Indra by their songs of praise, have strengthened him, to
slay Ahi. Increase, O hero Indra, in thy body, praised with piety, and
impelled by our prayers. The hymns whet thy great strength, thy
courage, thy power, thy glorious thunder-club."[108] As it is men who
offer sacrifice to the gods, this conception gives mankind a certain
power over the deities; it lies with them to strengthen the gods by
sacrifice and gifts; they can compel the gods to be helpful to them, if
only they understand how to invoke them rightly. The holy words,
i. e. the invocations, are, in the conception of the Veda, "a voyage
which leads to heaven." Hence those who are acquainted with the
correct mode of prayer and offering become magicians, who are in a
position to exercise force over the gods. The idea that man has
power to compel the gods is very naïve, childlike, and childish; in its
most elementary form it lies at the root of fetishism. In other nations
also great weight is laid on the correct mode of offering sacrifices, as
the essential condition of winning the grace of the gods; but the
conception that a hearing must attend a sacrifice and prayer
correctly made is far more strongly present in the Indians, than in
any other civilised people. Yet the hymns of the Veda are far above
fetishism, which attempts to exercise direct external compulsion
upon the gods. The Indian faith is rather that this effect is obtained
not merely by the custom of sacrifice, but by the intensity of
invocation, by the power of meditation, by elevation of spirit, by the
passionate force of prayer, which will not leave the god till he has
given his blessing. It is inward, not outward compulsion that they
would exercise. Developed in a peculiar direction, this mode of
conception is of deep and decisive importance for the religious and
civic views of the Indians.
The power ascribed to the sacrificial prayers of bringing down the
gods from heaven; the eager desire of every man to invite the gods](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-61-320.jpg)
![effectually to his own sacrifice, in order that he may scorn the
sacrifice of his enemy; the notion that it was possible by the correct
and pleasing invocation to disturb the sacrifice of the enemy and
make it inoperative, had their natural effect. The singers of these
prayers, who knew the strongest forms of invocation, or could
"weave" them—the priests—early obtained a position of importance.
It has been already remarked what rich presents they boast to have
received from the princes. The minstrel Kakshivat tells us that king
Svanaya had presented him with one hundred bars of gold, ten
chariots with four horses each, a hundred bulls and a thousand
cows.[109] Other songs advise the princes to place before them a
pious suppliant at the sacrifice, and to reward him liberally. These
suppliants or priests were called purohita, i. e. "men placed before."
"He dwells happily in his house," we are told; "to him the earth
brings fruit at all times; to that king all families willingly give way,
who is preceded by the suppliant; that king is protected by the gods,
who liberally rewards the suppliant who seeks food."[110] The
invocations which have drawn down the gods and have obtained an
answer to the prayer of the sacrificer, are repeatedly used, and
handed down by the minstrel to his descendants. This explains the
fact that even in the Veda we find these families of minstrels; that
some of the hymns are said to spring from the ancestors of these
races, while others are mentioned as the new compositions of
members of these families; that the supposed ancestors are
considered the first and oldest minstrels and suppliants, and have
already become mythical and half-divine forms, of whom some
kindled the first sacrificial fire, and offered the first sacrifice with
Manu, the progenitor of the Aryas.
The hymns of the Veda make frequent mention of the dead. They
are invited to the sacrificial meal; they are said to sit at the fire; to
eat and drink the gifts set before them on the grass. Those who
have attained "life," are entreated to protect the invocations of their
descendants, to ward off the evil spirits, to give wealth to their
descendants. We know from a later period that daily libations were](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-62-320.jpg)
![offered "to the fathers," and special gifts were given at the new
moon; that a banquet of the dead was kept. In Iran also similar
honours were given to the spirits of the dead. Yama, who first
experienced death, who ascended from the depths of the earth to
the summit of heaven, has discovered the path for mortals (p. 31).
He dwells with Varuna in the third heaven, the heaven of light. To
him, in this heaven of light, come the heroes who are slain in battle,
the pious who are distinguished by sacrifices and knowledge, who
have trodden the path of virtue, who have observed justice and have
been liberal, i. e. all those who have lived a holy and pure life, and
have thus purified their own bodies. In this body of light they walk in
the heaven of Yama. According to the Mahabharata, the heroes and
saints of ancient days shine in heaven in a light of their own
(chapter viii.). In the heaven of Yama is milk, butter, honey, and
soma, the drink of the gods, in large vats.[111] Here the weak no
longer pay tribute to the strong;[112] here those whom death has
separated are again united; here they live with Yama in feasting and
rejoicing. The souls of the wicked, on the other hand, fall into
darkness.[113] According to an old commentary on the Rigveda, the
heaven of Yama is in the South-east, one thousand days journey on
horse from the earth.[114]
The Aryas buried their dead, a custom which was also observed in
old time among the Arians of Iran. A form of words, to be spoken at
the burial, which is preserved among the more recent hymns of the
Veda, shows that even at this period burial was practised. The bow
was taken from the hand of the dead; a sacrifice was offered, in
which the widow of the dead and the wives of the family took part,
and during the ceremony a stone was set up as a symbol between
the dead and the living. "Get thee gone, death, on thy way,"—such
is this form of words—"which lies apart from the way of the gods.
Thou seest, thou canst hear what I say to thee; injure not the
children nor the men. I set this wall of separation (the stone) for
those that live, that no one may hasten to that goal; they must
cover death with this rock, and live a hundred autumns. He comes to](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-63-320.jpg)
![a length of years, free from the weakness of age. The women here,
who are wives not widows, glad in their husbands, advance with
sacrificial fat and butter, and without tears; cheerful, and beautifully
adorned, they climb the steps of the altar. Exalt thyself, O woman, to
the world of life. The breath of him, by whom thou art sitting, is
gone; the marriage with him who once took thy hand, and desired
thee, is completed. I take the bow out of the hand of the dead—the
symbol of honour, of courage, of lordship. We here and thou there,
we would with force and vigour drive back every enemy and every
onset. Approach to mother earth; she opens to receive thee kindly;
may she protect thee henceforth from destruction. Open, O earth;
be not too narrow for him; cover him like the mother who folds her
son in her garment. Henceforth thou hast thy house and thy
prosperity here; may Yama procure thee an abode there."[115]
The Arians in Iran gave up the burial of their corpses, and exposed
them on the mountains; the Arians on the Indus burnt them. For
some time burial and cremation went on side by side in the valley of
the Indus. "May the fathers," we are told in an invocation, "have joy
in our offering whether they have undergone cremation or not."[116]
In other prayers Agni is entreated to do no harm to the dead, to
make the body ripe, to carry the "unborn" part into heaven where
the righteous keep festival with the gods; where Yama says: "I will
give this home to the man who comes hither if he is mine."[117]
"Warm, O Agni," so we are told in one of these prayers, "warm with
thy glance and thy glow the immortal part of him; bear it gently
away to the world of the righteous. Let him rejoin the fathers, for he
drew near to thee with the libation of sacrifice. May the Maruts carry
thee upwards and bedew thee with rain. May the wise Pushan (p.
47) lead thee hence, the shepherd of the world, who never lost one
of his flock. Pushan alone knows all those spaces; he will lead us on
a secure path. He will carefully go before as a lamp, a complete
hero, a giver of rich blessing. Enter, therefore, on the old path on
which our fathers have gone. Thou shalt see Varuna and Yama, the
two kings, the drinkers of libations. Go to the fathers; there abide](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-64-320.jpg)
![with Yama in the highest heaven, even as thou well deservest. On
the right path escape the two hounds—the brood of Sarama—of the
four eyes. Then proceed onward to the wise fathers who take delight
in happy union with Yama. Thou wilt find a home among the fathers;
prosper among the people of Yama. Surround him, Yama, with thy
protection against the hounds who watch for thee, the guardians of
thy path, and give him health and painless life. With wide nostrils,
eager for men, with blood-brown hair, Yama's two messengers go
round among men. O that they may again grant us the pleasant
breath of life to-day, and that we may see the sun!"[118] In other
invocations of the Rigveda the object of the prayer is "to reach to
the imperishable, unchangeable world, where is eternal light and
splendour; to become immortal, where king Vaivasvata (Yama)
dwells, where is the sanctuary of heaven, where the great waters
flow, where is ambrosia (amrita) and peacefulness, joy and delight,
where wishes and desires are fulfilled."[119]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-65-320.jpg)
![FOOTNOTES:
[49] Max Müller, "Hist. of Sanskrit Liter." p. 481 ff. Kaegi,
"Rigveda," 1, 9 ff.
[50] Roth, "Literatur des Veda," s. 120.
[51] In the later hymns of the Rigveda, Angiras and Bhrigu are
combined with other sages and minstrels of old time into a septad
of saints (10, 109, 4), and designated the great saints. They are,
beside Bhrigu and Angiras, Viçvamitra, Vasishtha, Kaçyapa, Atri,
Agastya. The eight saints from whom the eight tribes of the
Brahman priests now in existence are derived are: Jamadagni,
Gautama, Bharadvaja, Viçvamitra, Vasishtha, Kaçyapa, Atri,
Agastya. Jamadagni is said to have sprung from Bhrigu; Gautama
and Bharadvaja from Angiras.
[52] Muir, "Sanskrit texts," 3, 117 ff.; 121 ff.
[53] A. Weber, "Ind. Studien," 1. 88.
[54] Muir, "Sanskrit texts," 12, 160 ff.
[55] Kuhn in Weber, "Ind. Stud." 1. 202. The Çatapatha-
Brahmana (Weber, "Ind. Stud." 1. 161) tells us that Manu, when
washing his hands in the morning, took a fish in his hands, which
said to him—"Spare me, and I will save thee; a flood will wash
away all creatures." The fish grew to a monstrous size, and Manu
brought him to the ocean; and it bid Manu build a ship, and
embark on the ocean. When the flood rose, the fish swam beside
the ship, and Manu attached it by a rope to the horn of the fish.
Thus the ship passed over the northern mountains. And the fish
told Manu that he had saved him, and bade him fasten the ship
to a tree. So Manu went up as the waters sank from the northern
hills. The flood carried away all creatures; Manu alone remained.
Eager for posterity, Manu offered sacrifice, and threw clarified
butter, curdled milk, and whey into the water. After a year a
woman rose out of the water, with clarified butter under her feet.
Mitra and Varuna asked her whether she was their daughter, but
she replied that she was the daughter of Manu, who had
begotten her, and she went to Manu and told him that he had
begotten her by the sacrifice which he had thrown into the water.
He was to conduct her to the sacrifice, and he would then receive](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-66-320.jpg)
![posterity and herds. And Manu did so, and lived with her with
sacrifice and strict meditation, and through her began the
posterity of Manu. Cf. M. Müller, "Hist. of Sanskrit Liter." p. 425 ff.
The later form of the Indian legend of the flood is found in an
episode of the Maha-bharata. Here the fish appears to Manu
when he is performing some expiatory rites on the shore of a
river. The fish grew so mighty that Manu was compelled to bring
it into the Ganges, and when it became too large for this into the
ocean. When swimming in the ocean the fish announced the
flood, and bade Manu and the seven saints (Rishis) ascend the
ship, and take with them all kinds of seeds. Then the fish drew
the ship attached to his horn through the ocean, and there was
no more land to be seen; for several years all was water and sky.
At last the fish drew the ship to the highest part of the Himavat,
and with a smile bade the rishis bind the ship to this, which to
this day bears the name of Naubandhana (ship-binding). Then
the fish revealed himself to the seven saints as Brahman, and
commanded Manu to create all living creatures, gods, Asuras, and
men, and all things movable and immovable; which command
Manu performed. The legend overlooks the fact that the new
creation was unnecessary, as we have already been told that
Manu brought seeds of everything on board ship. The poems of
the Rigveda present no trace of the legend of the flood. It may
have arisen in the land of the Ganges, from the experience of the
floods there, unless it is simply borrowed from external sources.
In any case it is of later date; the Çatapatha-Brahmana is one of
the later Brahmanas. Weber, "Ind. Stud." 9, 423; Kuhn,
"Beiträge," 4, 288. I cannot follow De Gubernatis, "Letture," p.
228, ff, seqq.
[56] Kaegi, "Rigveda," 2, 58.
[57] On the Bhrigus see A. Weber, "Z. D. M. G." 9, 240. Kuhn,
"Herabkunft," s. 21 ff.
[58] On the Sarayu, which is mentioned, "Rigveda," 4, 30, 14,
and 10, 64, 9, cf. Lassen, loc. cit. 12, 644.
[59] "Rigveda," 1, 126, 1; 8, 21, 18.
[60] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 451, 456.
[61] "Rigveda," 7, 18, 2; in Muir, loc. cit. 5, 455.
[62] "Rigveda," 1, 28, 5; 6, 47, 29.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-67-320.jpg)
![[63] "Rigveda." 6, 75, in Muir, loc. cit. 5, 469, 471.
[64] Roth, "Das lied des Arztes," "Rigveda," 10, 97. "Z. D. M. G."
1871, 645.
[65] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 457, 461, 465.
[66] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 463.
[67] "Rigveda," 10, 21, 5. Above, p. 29.
[68] "Rigveda," 1, 94, 7; 1, 140, 1.
[69] "Samaveda," by Benfey, 2, 7, 2, 1.
[70] "Samaveda," by Benfey, 1, 1, 2, 2; 1, 1, 1, 9.
[71] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 212 ff.
[72] Kuhn, "Herabkunft des Feuers," s. 23 ff., 36 ff., 70 ff.
[73] Kaegi, "Rigveda," 1, 23.
[74] The triple birth is explained differently in the poems of the
Rigveda and in the Brahmanas.
[75] "Rigveda," 1, 36; cf. 1, 27, 58, 76.
[76] Divo napata: "Rigveda," 1, 182, 1, 4.
[77] "Rigveda," 1, 112, 116, 117, 118, 119, according to Roth's
rendering; cf. Benfey's translation, "Orient," 3, 147 ff.
[78] "Rigveda," 1, 92; 1, 30; 4, 52; 10, 39, 12.
[79] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 193 ff.
[80] "Rigveda," 1, 49; 1, 92; 1, 2, 5; 1, 113, 19 in Benfey's
rendering, "Orient," 1, 404; 2, 257; 3, 155. The three skilful
Ribhus, who are frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, are
assistants of the spirits of light. They assist the gods to liberate
the cows, which the spirits of the night have fastened in the rock-
stable, i. e. the bright clouds.
[81] The spirits of light are called sons of Aditi, i. e. of the
Eternal, Unlimited, Infinite; seven or eight sons are ascribed to
her; Hillebrandt, "Die Göttin Aditi." Originally Aditi meant, in
mythology, merely the non-ending, the imperishable, in
opposition to the perishable world, and the gods are called the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-68-320.jpg)
![sons of immortality because they cannot die. Darmesteter,
"Haurvatat," p. 83.
[82] "Rigveda," 1, 50, according to Sonne's translation in Kuhn,
"Z. V. Spr." 12, 267 ff.; cf. Benfey's rendering, "Orient," 1, 405.
[83] "Rigveda," 1, 35, according to Roth's translation; cf. Benfey,
"Orient," 1, 53.
[84] "Rigveda," 2, 38, according to Roth's translation, "Z. D. M.
G." 1870, 306 ff.
[85] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 171 ff. Kaegi, "Rigveda," 2, 43.
[86] Kuhn, "Herabkunft des Feuers," s. 66.
[87] "Rigveda," 1, 51, 5; 2, 12, 12.
[88] "Rigveda," 1, 32, according to Roth's translation; cf. Benfey,
"Orient," 1, 46.
[89] "Rigveda," 1, 11; 1, 121.
[90] Indra is derived by Benfey from syand, "to flow," "to drop,"
in which case we shall have to refer it to the rain-bringing power
of the god. Others have proposed a derivation from idh, indh, "to
kindle;" others from indra, "blue." In any case, Andra, the
corresponding name in the Rigveda, must not be left out of
consideration.
[91] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 144.
[92] Roth, "Zwei Lieder des Rigveda, Z. D. M. G.," 1870, 301 ff.
Muir, loc. cit. 5, 147 ff.
[93] "Rigveda," 4, 30; "Samaveda," Benfey, 1, 3, 2, 1. 1, 4, 1, 1.
[94] "Samaveda," Benfey, loc. cit.
[95] "Rigveda," 3, 59, in Muir, loc. cit. 5, 69.
[96] "Rigveda," 1, 115, 1 in Benfey; "Orient," 3, 157; "Rigveda,"
6, 51, 2; 7, 61, 1; 7, 63, 4; in Muir, loc. cit. 5, 157.
[97] "Atharvaveda," 4, 16, according to M. Müller's translation
"Essays," 1, 40, 41. Cf. Roth, "Atharvaveda," 8. 19.
[98] "Rigveda," 7, 86, 89, according to Müller's rendering,
"Essays," 1, 38, 39; cf. Muir's translation, loc. cit. 5, 63 ff. [who](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-69-320.jpg)
![reads "like an inflated skin" for "like a cloud," etc.]
[99] Windischmann, "Abh. der Münch. Akademie," 1847, s. 129.
[100] "Samaveda," 1, 6, 2, 2; "Rigveda," 1, 2, 2; 1, 5, 5, and
elsewhere.
[101] "Samaveda," Benfey, 1, 4, 1, 1; 5, 2, 4, 1, 15, and
elsewhere.
[102] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 98, ff.
[103] "Samaveda," Benfey, 1, 3, 2, 4.
[104] "Samaveda," 2, 8, 2, 6.
[105] "Samaveda," 1, 4, 1, 2; 2, 9, 2, 9.
[106] "Samaveda," 1, 6, 2, 1.
[107] "Rigveda," 1, 32; "Samaveda," 1, 3, 2, 4.
[108] "Rigveda," 5, 31, 10; 1, 63, 2; 2, 20, 8; 1, 54, 8.
[109] "Rigveda," 1, 126, 2, 3.
[110] "Rigveda," 4, 50, 8, 9. Roth, "Z. D. M. G.," 1, 77. Lassen,
loc. cit. 12, 951.
[111] M. Müller, "Z. D. M. G.," 9, 16. These bright bodies of the
fathers led to the idea that the souls of the fathers had adorned
the heaven with stars, and that they were these stars. "Rigveda,"
10, 68, 11.
[112] "Atharvaveda," 3, 29, 3; in Muir, loc. cit. 5, 310.
[113] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 308, 309, 311. In the later portion of the
Rigveda, 10, 15, the old conception of the fathers is already
changed. Three classes of fathers are distinguished, and burning
and non-burning are mentioned side by side.
[114] "Aitareya-Brahmana," 2, 17; in Muir, loc. cit. 5, 322.
[115] "Rigveda," 10, 18; according to Roth's rendering, "Z. D. M.
G.," 8, 468 ff.
[116] "Rigveda," 10, 15, 14; in Muir, loc. cit. 5, 297.
[117] "Atharvaveda," 18, 2, 37; in Muir, loc. cit. 5, 294.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-70-320.jpg)
![[118] M. Müller, "Die Todtenbestattung der Brahmanen," s. 14 ff.
[119] "Rigveda," 9, 113, 7 ff.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-71-320.jpg)
![CHAPTER III.
THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND OF THE GANGES.
The life of the Aryas in the Panjab was manly and warlike. From the
songs of the Rigveda we saw how familiar they were with the bow
and the chariot, how frequent were the feuds between the princes,
and the prayers offered to the gods for victory. Such a life could, no
doubt, increase the pleasure in martial achievements, and lead to
further enterprises, even if the plains and pastures of the Panjab had
not been too narrow for the inhabitants. We remember the prayer in
which the war-god was invoked to grant the Arian tribes room
against the black-skins (p. 8). As a fact the Aryas extended their
settlements to the East beyond the Sarasvati; and as on the lower
Indus the broad deserts checked any progress towards the region of
the Yamuna and the Ganges, the advance from the Sarasvati to the
Yamuna must have taken place in the North along the spurs of the
Himalayas.
From the hymns of the Rigveda we can ascertain that the Arian
tribes pressed on each other, and that the tribes settled in the East
were pushed forward in that direction by tribes in the West. Ten
tribes of the Panjab, who appear to have occupied the region of the
Iravati,[120]—the Bharatas, Matsyas, Anus, and Druhyus, are
specially mentioned among them—united for a campaign against
king Sudas, the son of Divodasa, the descendant of Pijavana, who
ruled over the Tritsus on the Sarasvati. On the side of the united
tribes was the priest Viçvamitra of the race of the Kuçikas; on the
side of the Tritsus the family of Vasishtha.[121] The Bharatas,
Matsyas, Anus, and Druhyus, must have crossed the Vipaça and the
Çatadru in order to attack the Tritsus. The Rigveda mentions a
prayer addressed by Viçvamitra to these two streams. "Forth from](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-72-320.jpg)
![the slopes of the mountains; full of desire, like horses loosed in the
course, like bright-coloured cows to their calves, Vipaça and Çatadru
hasten with their waves. Impelled by Indra, seeking an outlet to the
sea, ye roll onward like warriors in chariots of war: in united course
with swelling waves ye roll into each other, ye clear ones. Listen
joyfully to my pleasant speech, for a moment. O abounding in
waters, halt on your steps to the sea. With strong earnestness,
crying for help, I entreat you, I, the son of Kuçika. Listen to the
minstrel, ye sisters; he has come from far with horse and chariot.
Incline yourselves, that ye may be crossed; your waves, ye streams,
must not reach the axles. When the Bharatas have crossed you, the
mounted host, goaded by Indra, then run on in your renewed
course." After the two rivers were crossed a battle took place.
Viçvamitra uttered the prayer for the Bharatas: "Indra, approach us
with manifold choice help; great hero, be friendly. May he who hates
us fall at our feet; may he whom we hate, be deserted by the breath
of life. As the tree falls beneath the axe, as a man breaks asunder a
husk, as a boiling kettle throws off the foam, so deal thou, O Indra,
with them. These sons of Bharata, O Indra, know the battle. They
spur their horses; they carry the strong bow like an eternal enemy,
looking round in the battle."[122]
In spite of the prayer of Viçvamitra the Bharatas and their
confederates were defeated; Sudas was even able to invade their
land, to capture and plunder several places. The song of victory of
the Tritsus, which a minstrel of Sudas may have composed after
their success, runs thus: "Two hundred cows, two chariots with
women, allotted as booty to Sudas, I step round with praises, as the
priests step round the place of sacrifice. To Sudas Indra gave the
flourishing race of his enemies, the vain boasters among men. Even
with poor men Indra has done marvellous deeds; by the weak he
has struck down the lion-like. With a needle Indra has broken
spears; all kinds of good things he has given to Sudas. Ten kings,
holding themselves invincible in battle, could not strive against
Sudas, Indra, and Varuna; the song of them who brought food-
offerings was effectual. Where men meet with raised banner in the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-73-320.jpg)
![battle-field, where evil of every kind happens, where all creatures
are afraid, there have ye, Indra and Varuna, spoken (words of)
courage above us, as we looked upwards. The Tritsus in whose
ranks Indra entered went onward like downward streaming water:
their enemies, like hucksters when dealing, leave all their goods to
Sudas. As Sudas laid low twenty-one enemies in glorious strife, as
the sacrificer strews holy grass on the place of sacrifice, so did Indra
the hero pour out the winds. Sixty hundred of the mounted Anus
and Druhyus perished; sixty and six heroes fell before the righteous
Sudas. These are the heroic deeds, all of which Indra has done.
Without delay, Indra destroyed all the fortresses of the enemy, and
divided the goods of the Anus in battle to the Tritsus. The four
horses of Sudas, the coursers worthy of praise, richly adorned,
stamping the ground, will bring race against race to glory. Ye strong
Maruts, be gracious to him as to his father Divodasa, preserve to
him the house of Pijavana, and let the power of the righteous king
continue uninjured." In another song of the Rigveda the glory of this
victory of king Sudas is especially ascribed to Vasishtha and his sons
"in white robes with the knot on the right side" (p. 29). They were
seen surrounded in the battle of the ten kings, then Indra heard
Vasishtha's song of praise, and the Bharatas were broken like the
staffs of the ox-driver. The Vasishthas had brought the mighty Indra
from far by their soma-offering, by the power of their prayer; then
had Indra given glory to the Tritsus, and their tribes had extended.
[123]
The extension of the Aryas in the rich plains of the Yamuna and the
Ganges must in the first place have followed the course of the
former river towards the south, and then reached over the land
between the two rivers, until the immigrants arrived further and
further to the east on the banks of the Ganges. We have no
historical information about the facts of these migrations and
conquests, of the occupation of the valleys of the Yamuna, the upper
and middle Ganges; we can only ascertain that the valley of the
Yamuna, and the doab of the two rivers were first occupied and
most thickly colonised. It is not till we come lower down the course](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-74-320.jpg)
![of divine things became obscured; and lastly the age of sin, the
present age of the world, Kaliyuga. Between the end of one period
and the beginning of the next there came in each case a period of
dimness and twilight. If this period is reckoned in, the first age
lasted 4800 divine years, or 1,728,000 human years; the life of men
in this age reached 400 years. The second age lasted 3600 divine
years, or 1,296,000 human years, and life reached 300 years. The
third age lasted 2400 divine years, or 864,000 human years, and
men only lived to the age of 200 years. The present age will last
1200 divine years, or 432,000 human years, and men will never live
beyond the age of 100 years.[124] This scheme is obviously an
invention intended to represent the decline of the better world and
the increase of evil, in proportion to the distance from the divine
origin. In the matter of numbers the Indians are always inclined to
reckon with large figures, and nothing is gained by setting forth the
calculations in greater detail. From the Rigveda it is clear that the
year of the Indians contained 360 days in twelve months of 30 days.
In order to bring this year into accordance with the natural time, a
month of thirty days was inserted in each fifth year as a thirteenth
month although the actual excess in five years only amounted to
26¼ days. Twelve of these cycles of five years were then united into
a period of 60 years, i. e. 12 x 5, and both the smaller and the larger
periods were called Yuga.[125] On this analogy the world-periods
were formed. By multiplying the age of sin by ten we get the whole
duration of the world; the perfect age is four times as long as the
age of sin.[126] A year with the gods is as long as a day with men;
hence a divine year contains 360 years of men, and the world-
period, i. e. the great world-year, is completed in 12 cycles each of
1000 divine years, i. e. 360,000 human years. In the first age, the
age of perfection, Yama and Manu walked and lived on earth with
their half-divine companions (p. 30); in the age of the three fires of
sacrifice, i. e. of the strict fulfilment of sacred duties, lived
Pururavas, who kindled the triple sacrificial fire,[127] and the great
sacrificers or minstrels, the seven or ten Rishis (p. 29 n. 2); the
period of darkness and doubt was the age of the great heroes. With](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-76-320.jpg)
![the priests who invented this system of ages the period of the great
heroes was naturally placed lower than that of the great sacrificers
and saints. The historical value attaching to this scheme lies in the
fact that the Epos places the great war of the Pandus and Kurus in
the period of transition between the age of doubt and the age of
evil, in the twilight of the Kaliyuga, and the Puranas in consequence
make the beginning of the reign of the first Pandu over the Bharatas
after the great war, the accession of Parikshit, coincide with the
commencement of the Kaliyuga.[128] Now according to the date of
the Puranas the Kaliyuga begins in the year 3102 B.C. On this
calculation the great movement towards the east and in the east
came to an end about this time.
That the Indians once contented themselves with smaller numbers in
fixing the ages than those which we find in the book of the law and
the Puranas, we may conclude from the statements of the Greek
Megasthenes, who drew up his account at the court of
Chandragupta (Sandrakottos) of Magadha at the end of the fourth
century B.C. This author tells us that in ancient times the Indians
were nomads, clothed in the skins of animals, and eating raw flesh,
till Dionysus came to them and taught them the tillage of the field,
the care of vines, and the worship of the gods. On leaving India he
made Spatembas king, who reigned 52 years; after him his son
Budyas reigned for 20 years, who was in turn succeeded by his son
Kradeuas, and so the sceptre descended from father to son; but if a
king died without children the Indians selected the best man to be
king. From Dionysus to Sandrakottos the Indians calculated 153
kings, and 6402 years. In this period the line had been broken three
times; the second interruption lasted 300 years, the third 120 years.
[129] What particular rite among the Indians caused the Greeks to
represent Dionysus as visiting India and to make him the founder of
Indian civilisation, will become clear further on. Putting this aside,
the account of Megasthenes of the triple break in the series of kings
shows that the system of the four ages was in vogue among the
Indians even at that time. If Megasthenes speaks of a single line of](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/3386918-250604130811-18ffd926/85/Oecd-Territorial-Reviews-Siena-Italy-2002-Oecd-77-320.jpg)
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- 7. OECD Territorial Reviews Siena, Italy ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
- 8. ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT Pursuant to Article 1 of the Convention signed in Paris on 14th December 1960, and which came into force on 30th September 1961, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shall promote policies designed: – to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living in Member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the world economy; – to contribute to sound economic expansion in Member as well as non-member countries in the process of economic development; and – to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, non- discriminatory basis in accordance with international obligations. The original Member countries of the OECD are Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The following countries became Members subsequently through accession at the dates indicated hereafter: Japan (28th April 1964), Finland (28th January 1969), Australia (7th June 1971), New Zealand (29th May 1973), Mexico (18th May 1994), the Czech Republic (21st December 1995), Hungary (7th May 1996), Poland (22nd November 1996), Korea (12th December 1996) and the Slovak Republic (14th December 2000). The Commission of the European Communities takes part in the work of the OECD (Article 13 of the OECD Convention). Publié en français sous le titre : EXAMENS TERRITORIAUX DE L’OCDE Sienne, Italie © OECD 2002 Permission to reproduce a portion of this work for non-commercial purposes or classroom use should be obtained through the Centre français d’exploitation du droit de copie (CFC), 20, rue des Grands-Augustins, 75006 Paris, France, tel. (33-1) 44 07 47 70, fax (33-1) 46 34 67 19, for every country except the United States. In the United States permission should be obtained through the Copyright Clearance Center, Customer Service, (508)750-8400, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 USA, or CCC Online: www.copyright.com. All other applications for permission to reproduce or translate all or part of this book should be made to OECD Publications, 2, rue André-Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France.
- 9. 3 © OECD 2002 Foreword The globalisation of trade and economic activity is increasingly testing the ability of regional economies to adapt and exploit or maintain their competitive edge. There is a tendency for performance gaps to widen between regions, and the cost of main- taining cohesion is increasing. On the other hand rapid technological change, extended markets and greater use of knowledge are offering new opportunities for local and regional development but demand further investment from enterprises, reorganisation of labour and production, skills upgrading and improvements in the local environment. Amid this change and turbulence, regions continue to follow very different paths. Some regions are doing well in the current phase of the growth cycle and are driving growth. Others are less successful at capturing trade and additional economic activi- ties. Many territories with poor links to the sources of prosperity, afflicted by migra- tion, notably of young people, and lagging behind with respect to infrastructure and private investment are finding it difficult to keep up with the general trend. At the same time central governments are no longer the sole provider of territorial policy. The vertical distribution of power between the different tiers of government needs to be reassessed as well as the decentralisation of fiscal resources in order to better respond to the expectations of the public and improve policy efficiency. All these trends are leading public authorities to rethink their policies and strategies The Territorial Development Policy Committee (TDPC) was created at the begin- ning of 1999 to assist governments with a forum for discussing the above issues. Within this framework, the TDPC has adopted a programme of work that puts its main focus on reviewing Member countries’ territorial policies and on evaluating their impact at regional level. The objectives of Territorial reviews are: a) identify the nature and scale of territorial challenges using a common analytical framework; b) assist governments in the assessment and improvement of their territorial policy, using comparative policy analysis; c) assess the distribution of competencies and resources among the different levels of governments; and d) identify and disseminate information on best practices regarding territorial policy. The Committee produces two types of reviews: Territorial reviews at the national level. Requested by national authorities, they analyse trends in regional performances and institutional settings, focus on policies to reduce territorial disparities and to assist regions in developing competitive advantages. They also concentrate on the governance framework, on the impact of national non-
- 10. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 4 © OECD 2002 territorial policies on subnational entities and on specific aspects of fiscal federal- ism. The final report proposes territorial policy recommendations. Territorial Reviews at the regional level. Requested by subnational authorities (local or regional) with the agreement of national ones, they concentrate on strategies for development of the respective entity. They in particular identify the role of key demographic, socio-economic, environmental, technological and institutional fac- tors in explaining the performance of regions. Comparative analysis with regions of the same type is undertaken using the typologyelaborated by the Secretariat. The final report proposes development policy recommendations. Bernard Hugonnier, Director, Territorial Development Service Acknowledgements The project was co-sponsored and co-financed by the Province of Siena and by the OECD. Socio-economic background information was collected and provided by the SMP consulting firm. Additional information was provided by Professor Guido Pellegrini and Professor Luigi Burroni. The team of international experts who contributed their reports to the prepara- tion of this review was comprised of Mr. Nicola Crosta, OECD Secretariat, Mrs. Sabrina Lucatelli, OECD Secretariat, Ms. Elke Loeffler, Bristol Business School, Specialist in Public Administration, and Mr. Edward Inskeep, International Consultant, Specialist in Tourism. Invaluable assistance was provided by Mr. Albino Caporale, of the Provincial Administration of Siena. This review was produced and co-ordinated by Mr. Timothy Wojan and Ms. Arantzazu Aramburu, Administrators, and it was directed by Mr. Mario Pezzini, Head of the Territorial Reviews and Governance Division of the OECD Territorial Development Service.
- 11. 5 © OECD 2002 Table of Contents Assessment and Recommendations ....................................................................................... 9 Chapter 1. Siena as Representative Rural Region or Archetype? ..................................... 23 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 23 Evolution of the territory........................................................................................................ 25 Problems of reproduction ...................................................................................................... 30 The challenge of development ............................................................................................. 33 New requirements of governance......................................................................................... 35 Chapter 2. Territorial Patterns and Trajectories .................................................................. 39 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 39 Comparison with other regions ............................................................................................. 39 Functional borders of the territory and interaction............................................................ 44 Geographic distribution of resources................................................................................... 53 Strengths affecting the productivity of factors..................................................................... 76 Territorial potentials and threats .......................................................................................... 83 Notes ............................................................................................................................................ 87 Chapter 3. Governance for Sustainable Rural Development in Siena.............................. 89 Sustainable rural development as a strategic goal in the Province of Siena .................. 89 The context............................................................................................................................... 89 Participatory planning tools for coherent economic territorial governance.................... 94 The strategic planning process in the Province of Siena ................................................... 104 Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 116 Chapter 4. Access to Public Services and Infrastructures................................................... 119 The challenge of infrastructure and service provision in Siena........................................ 119 Service provision changes brought about by the Bassanini reforms ............................... 119 Public infrastructures and service provision in Siena ........................................................ 120 Major trends in service provision in rural areas in OECD Member countries................. 122 Some feasible options for improving service delivery in Siena ....................................... 127 Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 131 Notes ............................................................................................................................................ 137
- 12. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 6 © OECD 2002 Chapter 5. Developing Sustainable Tourism in Siena ......................................................... 139 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 139 Tourism in Siena: resources and opportunities.................................................................. 140 Is tourism development sustainable in Siena? .................................................................. 140 Planning and managing tourism............................................................................................ 147 Types of tourism particularly relevant for the Province of Siena: farm, spa and cultural tourism.............................................................................................................................................. 150 Recommendations.................................................................................................................. 155 Notes............................................................................................................................................ 160 Chapter 6. Differentiated Agricultural Products................................................................... 163 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 163 Provision of possible non-commodity outputs of agriculture........................................... 163 Successfully implemented strategies .................................................................................. 167 Implemented strategies showing promise.......................................................................... 180 Emerging strategies................................................................................................................ 185 Common requirements .......................................................................................................... 188 Differentiated product strategies and rural development................................................ 191 Common Agricultural Policy reform...................................................................................... 193 Recommendations.................................................................................................................. 202 Notes............................................................................................................................................ 208 Annex I. Establishing Carrying Capacities............................................................................ 211 Annex II. Core Indicators of Sustainable Tourism ............................................................... 214 Annex III. Labelling of Typical Products ................................................................................. 216 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 221 List of Boxes 1. Comparison with matched territories............................................................................... 45 2. An example of excellence.................................................................................................. 49 3. The MIT Industrial Liaison Programme ............................................................................ 78 4. Territorial pacts ................................................................................................................... 94 5. Administrative simplification in territorial pacts in the Province of Caltanissetta in Sicily ................................................................................................................................. 98 6. Strategic planning in the City of Barcelona...................................................................... 107 7. Compass – A project of the Bertelsmann Foundation to develop strategic management at the local level.......................................................................................... 113 8. Mancomunidades and consortia as forms of inter-municipal partnership in Spain........ 124 9. The digital town project: promoting citizenship............................................................. 126 10. Sienese examples of co-production of public services with civil society ................... 129 11. ICTs in rural areas: successful initiatives.......................................................................... 132 12. Qualitative trends in tourism............................................................................................. 142 13. Cultural valorisation initiatives in Siena.......................................................................... 154
- 13. Table of Contents 7 © OECD 2002 14. Terre di Siena DOP and Chianti Classico DOP ................................................................ 180 15. Organic agriculture and lotta integrata agriculture............................................................. 182 16. Procedure of inspection for products under organic agriculture................................... 182 17. Integrating HACCP and ISO 9000 in an increased product quality strategy ................ 187 18. EU designations for agricultural products other than wine: definitions....................... 217 19. Italian “designations of origin” for wine ..................................................................................... 218 20. Procedure of inspection for products under EU Regulation 2081 (non wine products) – Italy................................................................................................. 218 21. Procedure of inspection for DOC and DOCG wine products – Italy..................................... 219 List of Tables 1. Non-agricultural employment rate per year .................................................................... 44 2. Ranking in employment rate per year .............................................................................. 44 3. NUTS 3 level territories with a strong structural similarity to the Province of Siena.. 45 4. The attractiveness of the matched territories to tourism............................................... 46 5. Propensity to internationalisation of provinces of Italy ................................................. 50 6. Population trends in municipalities in the Province of Siena ....................................... 57 7. Population by homogeneous areas, Province of Siena .................................................. 60 8. Age structure in Italian regions .......................................................................................... 61 9. Age structure, dependency ratio, fertility and gender balance, Province of Siena.... 65 10. Worker status for the Province of Siena and Region of Tuscany, 1997 ......................... 66 11. Irregular and non-resident foreign worker employment by sector, Province of Siena and Region of Tuscany, 1997.............................................................................................. 66 12. Level of education – percentage of the resident population, Province of Siena ....... 67 13. Second degree of secondary school, distribution of enrolled students, Province of Siena and Region of Tuscany......................................................................................... 68 14. Student enrolment by major field of study, University of Siena................................... 68 15. Graduates by major field of study, University of Siena.................................................. 69 16. Distribution and utilisation of public service establishments for municipalities in the Province of Siena...................................................................................................... 70 17. Companies and relative land area in the Province of Siena.......................................... 73 18. Division of farms by number and total surface area ....................................................... 74 19. Working population in agriculture, age group 19-34....................................................... 75 20. Manufacturing employment by municipality, Province of Siena................................... 80 21. Employment size classes of manufacturing establishment ........................................... 81 22. Relative specialisation of Siena, Tuscany and Italy by manufacturing sectors ........... 81 23. Membership, volunteering and the “activism index” in selected countries ............... 93 24. The effects of low population density on public and private services in the Province of Siena ................................................................................................................................. 121 25. Indicators of the provision of infrastructure..................................................................... 121 26. Summary of technology options........................................................................................ 136 27. Tourist presence in the Province of Siena........................................................................ 141 28. Evolution of agriturismo in Tuscany..................................................................................... 151 29. Management of tourism flows: strategies from the demand and supply side and possible tactics ............................................................................................................ 155
- 14. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 8 © OECD 2002 30. Typical products in the Province of Siena ....................................................................... 169 31. Chianti Classico ................................................................................................................... 170 32. Chianti Classico economic system.................................................................................... 171 33. Brunello di Montalcino....................................................................................................... 172 34. Outlets of Brunello di Montalcino wine ........................................................................... 173 35. Evolution in Brunello di Montalcino production ............................................................ 173 36. Olive oil food chain in Tuscany and in Siena .................................................................. 176 37. IGP Tuscany olive oil .......................................................................................................... 178 38. Operators asking for IGP certification............................................................................... 178 39. Olive oil with special designations in Province of Siena ............................................... 179 40. Organic agriculture in Province of Siena .......................................................................... 181 List of Figures 1. Per capita income change by provincial “convergence clubs”...................................... 40 2. Change in Italian rank by per capita income of selected Tuscany provinces ............. 41 3. Change in per capita income for predominantly rural Italian provinces ..................... 43 4. Siena road network............................................................................................................. 52 5. Functional Italian settlement pattern............................................................................... 54 6. Urban centres and settlement areas in the Province of Siena...................................... 56 7. Local Economic Systems in the Province of Siena ......................................................... 59 8. Contributions to population growth and decline in the Province of Siena................. 62 9. Population trends of Siena ................................................................................................ 63 10. Fecundity rate trends in Tuscany...................................................................................... 64 11. Governing board of the foundation Monte dei Paschi................................................... 92 12. The mechanism of co-operation in collective action: forms and instruments of integrated territorial planning....................................................................................... 111 13. Arrivals per municipality in the Province of Siena.......................................................... 144 14. Average stay per municipality in the Province of Siena ................................................ 145
- 15. 9 © OECD 2002 Assessment and Recommendations Siena’s experience contrasts general trends of predominantly rural areas… Siena, a predominantly rural province in central Italy, has enjoyed robust performance in the principal indicators of income and employment growth and in-migration. Even against the backdrop of impressive national gains in the post-war period, Siena has been able to improve its posi- tion relative to other Italian provinces in terms of per capita income. During this same period, predominantly rural Ital- ian provinces as a whole fell in rank. Employment creation has also been impressive with the province demonstrating high rates of labour force participation for men and women. Labour shortages have emerged recently, replacing the more typical rural problem of persistent unemployment. A strong indicator of the opportunities available in a territory is the rate of in-migration, and here too Siena has bucked rural trends, registering positive net migration since the 1970s. Most importantly, the composition of gross migration flows has stemmed the “brain drain” evidenced by a higher share of college graduates than the national or regional Tuscany average. Empirically, Siena is representative of the upper-tail for most of the principal indicators of perfor- mance in predominantly rural areas. The conceptual task is to determine whether this experience points to emergent possibilities of rural areas or is merely an outlier reliant on irreproducible factors. … providing insight into the advantages of specific rural characteristics… The commonality Siena shares with many other rural areas is its limited engagement with industrialisation. Between 1953 and 1971, the population fell by more than 7% following the crisis in sharecropping that afflicted the prov- ince. The migration story is typical of many predominantly rural areas in OECD Member countries that had also failed to generate sufficient employment in industry to compensate
- 16. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 10 © OECD 2002 for the labour shedding in agriculture. What differentiates the experience in Siena is the relatively early shared reali- sation that this limited engagement would add value to a substantial endowment of amenities – a range of natural, man-made and cultural features recognised as having spe- cific societal or economic value. This realisation resulted from a combination of civic obligation, the number and quality of these amenities and early success in the sym- bolic attachment of the territory to goods sold in the mar- ket. Siena is thus illustrative of a largely unappreciated potential in many rural areas and the social and collective orientation required for tapping it. … and the necessity for co-ordination and a long-term vision. However, the success that Siena has enjoyed has sen- sitised its residents to the need of sustaining these advan- tages into the future. Indeed, a part of this initial success was dependent on the significant endowment in place rather than their purposive co-ordination and valorisation. It is this current stage in Siena’s development that is most informative for rural development policy more generally. Instead of relying on the attractive pull of a small number of renowned sites, the province must further its efforts to make the totality of cultural, natural and built amenities visible and accessible. The dual challenge is to control con- gestion in the most popular sites and direct more visitors to under-utilised areas in the province. Sustainable devel- opment will thus require greater co-ordination both within and between interdependent activities in sectors such as tourism, agriculture and public services with the integration of economic, social and environmental goals. In turn, this raises new needs of governance and long-term strategic planning. These sectoral challenges and policy alternatives are outlined before turning to an assessment of governance instruments required for addressing them. The tourism strategy should appeal to more sustainable visitor profiles,… A significant share of the more than five million visitors annually matches a mass tourism profile where the tourist views a limited number of sites included on the must- see list. This contributes to the territorial concentration of flows in a few areas of the province: three UNESCO World Heritage sites in the province – the city centres of Siena and Pienza and of San Gimignano – risk erosion due to over
- 17. Assessment and Recommendations 11 © OECD 2002 congestion, exceeding their maximum carrying capacity during peak periods. This in turn generates resentment among the local population, and ends up transforming the identity of historical centres, which gradually lose their tra- ditional functions and inhabitants. Additionally, visitor con- gestion usually affects the quality of the tourism offer and creates high infrastructure and management costs, which exceed the financial resources of municipalities. At the same time, Siena possesses an exceptional wealth of less renowned attractions that are currently under-utilised – heri- tage, landscape, farm tourism, gastronomy, spas – and that are found throughout the province. Beautiful landscapes already attract numerous foreign tourists to stay in renovated farm houses that at one time sheltered the large contingent of labour required of modest holdings. The experience of rural tourism is aided by high quality wine and olive oil along with many typical products, all contributing to a rich culinary tradition. This element should allow the province to build a strategy harnessing its multiple tourism resources. The opportunity for tourists to create their own customised itin- eraries combining countryside, cultural visits, gastronomy and other interests would enhance the tourism experience, leading to longer stays. Appealing to this tourism profile would generate more sustainable tourism. … which will require addressing weaknesses in quality and regulatory compliance of farm tourism… The weaknesses in farm tourism should be addressed to ensure referral and return business and that incentives accrue only to accommodations that provide a substantive connection to farming. Standards of quality in accommoda- tion and catering are highly variable; that, unsurprisingly, reflects the lack of professional hospitality experience of most Sienese farmers. A general plan for establishing and implementing a more consistent level of quality within these constraints should be developed. The degree of compliance with the current regulatory framework of farm accommodation is a growing concern, with some agriturismo failing to satisfy the legal requirements of commercial accommodation, and an increasing number of unauthorised farms operating as accommodation units. This situation demands stricter enforcement by public authorities. In terms of promoting the sector, co-ordination of integrated regional promotion networks with enhanced Internet
- 18. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 12 © OECD 2002 information and online reservation capability would sub- stantially augment competitiveness. … and the spa sector… The spa sector, once an extremely prosperous one, is today adapting unevenly to changing conditions. Public subsidies to thermal therapies were reduced in the national health plan that halved occupancy rates in many of the spas. Concurrent to this crisis a new opportunity appeared in the increased interest of consumers in health and well being, manifest in the health tourist willing to finance his or her own treatments. This type of visitor demands curative or preven- tive therapies along with relaxation, fitness and beauty treatments, accompanied by quality accommodation. Not- withstanding some smaller spas, the spa sector should re- orient its product to meet new demands for therapies, fit- ness and well being as well as complementary tourism activities. The bigger spas of Chianciano could exploit their higher reception capacity in order to develop a comple- mentary offer of conference and seminar tourism, and develop new types of attractions. Smaller spas could envis- age a strategy of combining their own offers of high quality services with the other tourism resources of the province. … and improving synergies with other sectors. A tourism strategy should envisage more integrated efforts aiming to increase linkages between tourism and the craft and traditional food sectors. There is in Siena a wealth of “minor”, high quality agro-food products, which can both find additional markets through tourism and also be used in the promotion of the province, as these products are strongly linked to the history and traditions of Siena. There are opportunities to improve and expand local production of craft items for sale to tourists, and reinforce its links with tourism, increasing thus the local benefits of tourism. Siena agriculture presents a mix of market-driven and subsidised activity… Despite the considerable economic success of many agricultural producers in the province, the majority of culti- vated land area is dependent on Common Agricultural Pol- icy (CAP) subsidies to remain economically viable. The combination of market-driven and subsidised agriculture highlights the policy dilemma regarding the relative value of commodity and non-commodity outputs of the sector. The integral rural landscape that is a considerable asset to
- 19. Assessment and Recommendations 13 © OECD 2002 the province would be different in the absence of agricul- tural subsidies. But, the logic of mono-cropping supported by the CAP has no claims to authenticity. This fact chal- lenges the value of preserving the current cropping pat- terns over all others if landscape amenities are deemed an important non-commodity output of agriculture. More con- tentious are the environmental services in the form of reduced erosion risk that allegedly provide another valuable non-commodity output supported by the subsidy scheme. This argument does not consider agriculture’s negative con- tribution in the form of increased nutrient or pesticide leaching or lower-cost land use alternatives that would pro- vide the same protection against erosion. What is clear is that the link between the level of agricultural production and the various positive non-commodity outputs associ- ated with this production is quite weak. Maintaining pro- duction subsidies at their current level to ensure adequate non-commodity provision fails to envision the entrepre- neurial capacity of farmers or the possibility of better-tar- geted policy instruments. Consortia, farmer associations and co-operatives can support an entrepreneurially dynamic sector. The various associative institutions for farmers and agricultural producers in the province have demonstrated their value and will become increasingly important in a shift to market-oriented agriculture. Through the co-ordination of marketing and distribution activities, supporting research that would be beyond the means of individual producers, providing a menu of real services, and increasing the buying and selling power of collections of co-ordinated smallholders, the various organisations increase the viabil- ity of farming at a human scale. The possible diversification of individual holdings will make greater demands on the organisations’ ability to co-ordinate, market and provide real services to an increasingly heterogeneous member- ship. One likely impact of CAP reform will be to extend the qualification of typical products such as wine and olive oil to qualify cereals and animal husbandry based on a quality or organic certification. However, the organisations also have a potentially important role to play in fostering the entrepreneurial activities of farmers. Increasingly, it will be the ability to follow emerging market trends that will allow farmers to realise viable opportunities. … with the majority of cultivated land area dependent on CAP support.
- 20. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 14 © OECD 2002 Non-commodity outputs of agriculture are best assured by increased market viability. Internalising the returns from the positive externalities of agriculture has a long history in the province that should be encouraged further. The experience with farm tourism has demonstrated a successful means of diversifying farm income that also allows for the internalisation of some of the returns from the posi- tive externalities of agricultural production. Indeed, farm tourism is the clearest way that consumers can express their demand for amenity attributes of farming through direct pur- chase of farm accommodations. The current incentive of tax- ing farm tourism as an agricultural activity should be maintained if the current legal requirement that not more than half of farm revenue comes from tourism is effectively enforced. Geographic indications of origin have been another strategy for internalising returns by connecting the product to the territory. Popular images of Tuscany and the large number of visitors each year to the region suggest that a winning strategy is one that links agricultural goods to the territory. The market success of Controlled Designation of Origin (DOC and DOCG) wines from the province is the clear- est indication of this. However, various constraints suggest that any enlargement of the current DOC areas would pro- ceed quite slowly, if at all, and certainly much too slowly to compensate for area that may be brought out of production in response to eventual CAP reform. In light of these con- straints, efforts to diversify the range of typical products should be actively promoted. Although the range of labelled products currently extends to olive oil, and includes some meats and cheeses, there are currently a number of other traditional products that could also benefit from the legal protection and consumer information embodied in a label. Any such initiative would be facilitated by better co-ordination in the sale of authentic Sienese products so that the added value consumers derive from a product attached to the territory is represented in price premiums. The European model of agriculture requires better consumer information and the reintegration of farming into the vitality of rural communities. The province’s intention to build support for the cre- ation of an International Centre on Labelling of Typical Products should be encouraged. The mission of enhancing consumer information regarding typical products and developing strategies for maximising the contribution of typical products to rural development objectives would be a pure public good that has lacked substantial provision at the national or subnational level given an understandable preoccupation with “promotion”. Especially in light of the
- 21. Assessment and Recommendations 15 © OECD 2002 concerns regarding a high-quality food supply, information on the justifiable claims of typical products would provide a valuable service to European consumers, as well as insight into how agricultural production can be reintegrated into the cultural, natural and economic systems of rural communities. Specifying a transition period for reform of agricultural policies would mobilise the greatest range of creative resources. In the pursuit of market-driven agriculture, the paral- lel costs of traditional agricultural policies are both the resulting misallocation of resources along with the strong disincentives it creates for agricultural venturing. The objectives and solutions for an economically competitive agriculture sector are inherently complex in stark contrast to the much simpler problem of increasing agricultural yields to ensure food security. Finding policy solutions in a complex environment must recognise the importance of enabling experimentation at the local level to mobilise the rich information sources and creativity of a diverse set of actors. Unfortunately, “wait-and-see” is the rational eco- nomic response in the current environment that squan- ders immense human resources, many of which are well disposed to “explore-and-endeavour”. The implicit pen- alty on innovative behaviour should be removed by defin- ing a transition period that would allow farmers to revert back to pre-transition activities if they find these to be more remunerative after reform. Experience with public-private consultation suggests an ideal test case for experimenting with new instruments to support provision of non-commodity outputs. More amenable to direct local policy action is the potential for local instruments to underwrite the provision of non-commodity outputs currently provided by agricul- tural production. Substantial transfers have dulled the true interdependence of other sectors with agriculture. This interdependence needs to be explicitly examined. The fact that many of the beneficiaries of the non-commodity out- puts of agriculture are physically present and experience these outputs directly suggests that the beneficiary pays prin- ciple may be an appropriate and highly efficient way of ensuring a desirable level of provision. A tourism tax or means for soliciting voluntary contributions should be investigated. However, as the relationship between the level of non-commodity outputs and agricultural produc-
- 22. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 16 © OECD 2002 tion is weak these discussions should also investigate those non-commodity outputs that are valued and how they can be produced at lowest cost. In this respect, pro- vincial experience with consultation and negotiation across public and private sectors would be a valuable resource in the constitution and specification of service contracts for the provision of non-commodity outputs. Mutual interdependence of the farm and non-farm economy recommends territorial over sectoral approaches. Sienese farmers maintain a keen – but by no means unique – interest in proactively responding to the inter- nal and external forces that are driving the need for reform. The need to reduce distortions from subsidies to meet trade liberalisation obligations as well as reduc- tions required by Eastern enlargement to meet EU bud- getary targets are generally understood. As the resources for sectoral support become more constrained, the pol- icy synergies in an integrated approach to rural and agri- cultural development become more persuasive. This suggests that farmers may be an allied interest in pursu- ing a territorial approach to “a living countryside” rather than a blocking coalition bent on maintaining sectoral subsidies. Given that alignment of these interests will become increas- ingly difficult at larger territorial scales, Siena may provide a unique opportunity for a pragmatic test of the advisability of redirecting a larger share of agricultural funds to non-farm activities. Such a test recognises the importance of pluri- activity to farm household income, thereby enhancing the quality of the rural milieu and ensuring adequate service provision in sparsely populated areas. Administrative decentralisation should have a positive effect on service provision, although Siena faces a challenging situation. For what concerns both tourism and agriculture, effi- cient service delivery at the local level is crucial. The far- reaching process of administrative decentralisation in Italy changed the institutional framework for service delivery. It also produced a number of managerial reforms for local authorities. Taken together these changes should make local service provision more efficient and citizen-oriented. Mayors are now directly accountable to citizens for a wide range of public services provided at municipal level. This accountability is re-enforced by a new regime of local tax- ation that has given municipalities the right to collect local
- 23. Assessment and Recommendations 17 © OECD 2002 taxes and user fees. Reforms have also increased municipal oversight, prompting a more efficient use of human resources in the civil service, and renewing attention to the implementation of management control at the local level. The main challenge for service provision lies in Siena’s settlement pattern of small, scattered municipalities. More- over, institutionalised forms of co-operation between the municipalities have been hindered by the pride attached to locally maintaining a wide range of public services. Nonetheless, this costly municipal autarky will no longer be possible in the future. Due to demographic changes, costs of public services will increase as demand for some withers and demand for others increases. At the same time, local authorities will find it still harder to compete with private companies in a tight labour market. Options to increase the efficiency of service delivery include joint provision with other municipalities… In order to increase the efficiency of service delivery, the province should consider the different approaches fol- lowed in OECD Member countries, where several possibili- ties seem particularly appropriate. Small size combined with considerable variation in demand suggests many municipalities in Siena could benefit from joining up ser- vice production in local consortia. Municipal partnerships are formal agreements in which at least two local authorities pool resources to deliver services. Flexibility is required of participants, as well as the ability to relinquish their former level of control over operations. Small municipalities in rural areas seem especially suitable for this intergovern- mental arrangement, which is designed to enable joint ser- vice delivery and to maximise benefits in terms of potential cost savings and a wider range of high quality services than would be available to each local authority, acting alone. An appropriate “corporate governance” of municipal partner- ships is essential in order to ensure transparency and accountability and thus guarantee an efficient service deliv- ery. For instance, service partnerships with municipalities lacking major tourist attractions may help to deal with shortage of staff in the congested municipalities at peak times. Medical or policing staff from surrounding municipal- ities could be seconded to the tourist locations for a fixed period of time. But central government policies need to provide financial incentives for joint service delivery
- 24. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 18 © OECD 2002 between small-sized local authorities to outweigh their reluctance to co-operate. ... one-stop shops and multifunctional service shops. The strong municipal culture is also an obstacle for the realisation of one-stop shops (front offices for all the services of one public agency with different geographically dispersed departments, or for several public agencies). Given the small size of municipalities throughout the province, the best option would be to share one-stop shops between municipalities. Nonetheless, parochialism does not encourage local authorities to share their data. This resis- tance to co-operate could be overcome by bringing in external actors. This makes the relatively new approach of Multifunctional service shops an interesting alternative for the province; it goes one step further than one-stop shops, integrating public and private services delivered at the “front” office (service shop), which should be co-ordinated with service providers from the “back” office. Integrating private actors has the advantage of not only diluting rivalry between municipalities but also bringing in know- how and specific skills which are often lacking in small communities. Siena should speed up managerial reforms and induce a cultural change within the administration The above mentioned policy tools can have a strong impact on the province if applied in a co-ordinated man- ner. Still, they require at the same time that a crucial effort be made in the province: Siena needs to reinforce mana- gerial reforms that were started only in 1999. In particular, the implementation of the Strategic Development Plan discussed below will require operational information and management control systems, which at present are at an embryonic stage. More worrying is the limited capacity of small municipalities to respond to the management reforms brought about by the Bassanini reforms in a posi- tive way. However, the most urgent need across all levels of government in the province is for cultural change “to train” public managers and elected officials to talk to their citizens. Public authorities should set the example for increased customer satisfaction by ascertaining the needs, preferences and perceptions of citizens through surveys and other forms of market research.
- 25. Assessment and Recommendations 19 © OECD 2002 The poor infrastructure endowment of the province today results from deliberate choice. ICTs may offer opportunities to enhance competitiveness and combat social exclusion… Compared to other Italian provinces, Siena has rather poor infrastructure. This is particularly true with respect to airports and the railway network. The province also has large deficits regarding electric plants and services for enterprises. This situation has not emerged due to the lack of capital but rather the conscious choice of the provincial administration to prioritise the protection of landscape over new infrastructure projects. The picture is different regarding telecommunications infrastructure with the Prov- ince of Siena doing almost as well as the Region of Tuscany as a whole. And the province shows the will to put a stronger emphasis on ICT infrastructure; an ambitious project was recently initiated with the declared aim of bringing broad- band infrastructure to all areas of the province. This project would add to the existing best practices in e-government (the Siena Card) and in the promotion of local products on the Net. … but investments require a more comprehensive strategy. However, optimising the social returns of investments in broadband, along with other interesting initiatives in Siena, requires a clear and widely shared strategy for the development of the Information Society integrated with the global strategic plan for the province . This should cover objectives of both competitiveness and social cohesion. ICTs offer new delivery channels for public services of particular interest in isolated rural areas. In addition to e-government initiatives, tele-medicine and tele-education should be developed in order to fight social exclusion. More gener- ally, the development of such a strategy should include conducting a territorial analysis in order to identify precisely the areas that are likely to make better use of technologies, as well as providing appropriate training to increase computer literacy and language skills. Participatory planning instruments support Siena’s drive towards sustainable development,... Governance reforms appear to be conducive to meet- ing the needs of sustainable development as administra- tive decentralisation in Italy has mixed the cards anew. In particular, local authorities gained new administrative func- tions and new political accountability. Through this process the province obtained an unprecedented planning author- ity, demonstrated by recent initiatives in participatory planning. At the same time, a new dimension of co-ordination
- 26. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 20 © OECD 2002 between different levels of government is required by this decentralisation or “administrative federalism”. The dual learning process requires the central government level “to let loose” while local levels integrate municipal and provin- cial actions vertically. In other words, the hard test of local autonomy is integrated action. As a result, Siena provides a fertile ground for examining participatory planning along the lines of strategic management practices in the public sector elsewhere in OECD Member countries. In particular, Siena is predisposed to apply the new legislation in partici- patory planning given its high level of social capital. This helps a proactive provincial administration to mobilise pri- vate and social actors within short periods of time and to agree on large-scale projects. Many relevant stakeholders in the province are taking an active interest in different sustainable initiatives. … addressing land use… The process used in developing the Provincial Territo- rial Co-ordination Plan or PTCP is indicative of the compre- hensiveness and inclusiveness required of sustainable development. Drafting of the document eschewed the tra- ditional reliance on a single source of technical expertise in favour of the input and expertise from a wide range of actors and stakeholders in a consultation process that spanned three years. Developing a sense of ownership was critically important for a planning tool that makes the per- manence and reproducibility of territorial capital – that may be exploited or enhanced but never dissipated for per- sonal gain – the overarching principle. Going beyond the various formal and informal initiatives for valorisation of amenities to a systematic discipline of programming and policy will be necessary to ensure the sustainable utilisa- tion of these territorial assets. … and strategic planning. While the PTCP co-ordinates programming and policy with respect to land use, it does not directly address the co-ordination of economic activities and social objectives with respect to the territory that are often critical means for achieving development objectives. The provisional Strate- gic Plan being developed at the time of writing should address this deficiency, providing a long-term strategic
- 27. Assessment and Recommendations 21 © OECD 2002 vision to guide initiatives and defining performance targets for the concrete monitoring of progress. If the process for developing the Strategic Plan is successful it will secure the commitment of an inclusive collection of stakeholders and frame efforts for the productive reorganisation and rede- sign required for better programme and organisational per- formance. As a “work in progress” there is a significant opportunity for comment on and appraisal of the process. All planning processes reveal weaknesses with respect to transparency and public consultation. The “Siena success story” shows that a high stock of social capital supports “good government”. But the reverse is also true: “good governance” increases social capital. The fact that the Province of Siena has the historical advantage of a high-level of social capital makes Siena a unique case. Nevertheless, sustainable development will only be a real- istic goal if real efforts are made to ensure that individuals and organisations co-operate in an effective, associative way. Accountability and increased public participation are key elements of any sustainable development policy framework. Nonetheless, the design processes of the PTC and the Strategic Plan show deficiencies in the consultation processes; in the PTC the consultation was not yet a genu- ine dialogue between all stakeholders, and the consulta- tion in the Strategic Plan largely ignores the importance of engaging civil society. Moreover, the Monte dei Paschi Bank, one of the five largest Italian banks, headquartered in Siena, has created an autonomous foundation with a direc- tive to fund projects solely within the territory of the prov- ince, constituting a unique development tool. In order to commit all the stakeholders in the Province of Siena to the strategic plan, the decision-making process concerning the grants of the foundation should be related, through an inclu- sive consultation, to the objectives of the Strategic Plan. Public actors should improve their strategic capacities. Nonetheless, the definition of the Strategic Plan should not end with its drafting, nor should the involvement of local actors end after initial consultation. Strategic management should be seen as a continually evolving process of mutual learning, where public and private stakeholders are com- mitted to advancing the development of the community. Reporting systems and related sanction/premium mecha-
- 28. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 22 © OECD 2002 nisms are a way of both engaging stakeholders and ensur- ing better performance. Finally, such planning requires a substantive cultural change, as the different stakeholders need to act strategically. This requires individual and organi- sational learning and monitoring.
- 29. 23 © OECD 2002 Chapter 1 Siena as Representative Rural Region or Archetype? Introduction The Province of Siena provides an exemplary case for examining the changing role of predominantly rural regions in this age of unparalleled affluence, intercon- nectivity and globalisation. The most evident support for this statement comes from prolonged and robust performance in employment creation and income growth. At a time when many other rural areas are suffering from economic stagna- tion and concomitant outmigration, Siena is illustrative of local rural features that have been able to spur new growth. By examining the structures and behaviours that have contributed to this success, the analysis endeavours to provide produc- tive insight into how this experience might be reproduced in other places. The advantage of examining real world examples is the insight it provides regarding those rural challenges that are particularly intractable. Siena still struggles with many of the traditional rural challenges along with newly emerging ones that are also examined in turn. The wider implication of this is that the binding constraints of rural areas are brought into sharper focus. This perspective is particularly valu- able for understanding the limits of current rural policy and options for its improvement. It is now widely acknowledged that the province’s limited engagement with industrialisation has become a considerable asset in the valorisation of its rich endowment of both cultural and natural amenities. Siena shares this characteristic of limited engagement with many other rural areas. What differentiates the experi- ence in Siena is the shared realisation that these amenities are valuable. This realisation has resulted from a combination of civic obligation, the number and quality of these amenities and early success in the symbolic attachment of the territory to goods sold in the market. Siena is thus illustrative of a largely unappreciated potential in many rural areas and the social and collective orienta- tion required for tapping it. But importantly, local actors believe that there is still substantial potential for adding value to products and services by linking these to the territory, providing provocative examples of unexploited opportunities.
- 30. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 24 © OECD 2002 Sustainable tourism development also presents unexploited opportunities that have strong parallels with rural tourism more generally. However, whereas the main interest in promoting rural tourism is usually the creation of income and employment opportunities, the critical objective of a rural tourism strategy in Siena is to alleviate congestion in its most renowned sightseeing spots. Substan- tial increases in mass international tourism and inclusion of Siena’s most cele- brated attractions on tour operators’ “Tuscany must-see list” threatens the physical and social carrying capacity of these destinations. The ramparts of the hill towns that provided security against marauding foreign armies may eventually be undone by seemingly genial tourist coaches. The strategy being followed for solv- ing this problem attempts to redirect these tourist flows to less congested areas by appealing to experiential agendas of a substantive connection to a destina- tion’s people, culture and environment. Farm tourism, which has already demon- strated considerable success in the province, is one component of this strategy along with strategies to facilitate access to the totality of the province’s rich cul- tural heritage. Against this backdrop of vibrant economic activities, the Province of Siena also presents several serious challenges owing to sparse population density in much of the province – exacerbated by a negative natural balance – and the con- tinued reliance on agricultural subsidies affecting the majority of cultivated land area. Deficiencies in scale and scope economies will require administrative, tech- nological or entrepreneurial innovations in service delivery. The province is fol- lowing an ambitious program in pursuit of various technological innovations available in the Information Society, informing the efficacy of finding solutions to challenges of rural service delivery. More mundane solutions in the form of hori- zontal partnerships, privatisation and third sector initiatives also hold promise. With regard to agriculture, more than 70% of the utilised agricultural area produces cereals, oilseed, fodder and protein crops that generate roughly an equal split between market and subsidy revenue for many of its farmers. By comparison, vineyards that produce renowned wines from denominations such as Montalcino, Montelpuciano and Chianti account for only 9% of the cultivated land area. The inte- gral rural landscape that is a considerable asset to the province would be dramatically different in the absence of agricultural subsidies. Local actors recognise the necessity of increasing the competitiveness of producers dependent on subsidies and fostering entrepreneurial efforts to uncover new sources of value. Siena thus provides an instructive test case for assessing the replacement of subsidies to declining sectors with an approach based on strategic investments to develop new activities. The topics discussed above are instructive for finding solutions to rural prob- lems in many areas. From a historical perspective, it is only relatively recently that a prolonged period of net outmigration was reversed. While it would be easy to dismiss the relevance of the Siena experience as being dependent on irreproduc-
- 31. Siena as Representative Rural Region or Archetype? 25 © OECD 2002 ible factors, the danger of such reduction is to overlook the preponderance of rural resources capable of driving future growth. Uniqueness and differentiation that contribute to a heightened quality-of-life are becoming the main sources of rural comparative advantage in industrialised countries. The critical factors in Siena directing these new sources of growth have not been the abundance of amenities but rather the development of consultation and associative relations among local actors that have allowed for their sustainable valorisation. This experience is thus directly relevant to many rural areas. Viewing development as a continual process, it is only natural that past success has also opened up a new set of territorial chal- lenges. The creation of new instruments of governance to address the challenges of sustainable development along with the rich history of associative relations provides an ideal laboratory for envisioning the future possibilities of a significant number of rural areas. These future possibilities are likely to be reliant on those rural features that make a unique contribution to the capabilities of people, who live, work or visit there. Evolution of the territory The historical origins of the Sienese provide numerous examples of increased human capability that has been reliant on novel combinations of local resources. The most lasting marks of the early Etruscan civilisation originated in the vast works of drainage of the land and distribution of water. In addition to the construc- tion of navigable canals, outlets and a network of funnels to systematically drain extended areas, the Etruscans also constructed the first roads built on a wholly artificial foundation. Wealth accumulated from skilful cultivation of the land and craftsmanship that lead inevitably to trade. The so-called “orientalising age” (7th century BC) witnessed investment by the urban aristocracy in the production of olive oil and, above all, wine, whose surplus was eventually exported to meet the great demand of western barbarian peoples. Bronze-ware, toreutics and ceramics eventually became important exports leading to a specialisation in skills and the consequent birth of full-time artisans. The international dimension was thus well established in ancient times with Greek artisans responsible for much technology transfer, and many innovations in primary activities – such as the rota- tion of crops, new viticultural methods – having Greek or Oriental origin. The Roman “globalisation” was particularly disastrous for Etruria, which then went through a period of economic decline, the reconversion of production and the social disintegration of the urban and rural organisation, from which it was to recover only during the Middle Ages. Of course, many of the indelible marks on the Province of Siena that are now highly prized come from this period, most evi- dently the man-made objects, such as urban structures, architectural monuments and art, but also rich cultural traditions, such as the renowned festival of Il Palio. In addition, three institutions fundamental to contemporary Siena economy and
- 32. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 26 © OECD 2002 society emerged in these times: the university, the bank and the hospital. The Santa Maria della Scala Hospital was founded before the year 1000, constituting one of the first examples in Europe. The institution grew rapidly thanks to lega- cies, donations and alms, above all on the part of the important families in Siena. The second institution of international importance was the university, founded shortly after the universities in Bologna and Paris. A decree emanating from the Siena Podestà in 1240 testifies to the existence of a study centre in Siena that applied a tax on students’ lodgings to be transferred to the salaries of the Masters of the Siena Studium. Law, grammar and medicine were the main subjects taught. The emergence of Monte dei Paschi Bank completed the triad. A period of serious economic difficulty in Siena prompted the council magistrates to establish a monte di pieta in 1472 in line with clerical groups in Tuscany that were establishing funds for the needy. The bank soon extended its services beyond providing under-col- lateralised loans to the poor. Guarantees to the bank’s depositors would eventu- ally be provided by setting aside the income from the pastures (paschi) south-west of the city, cementing the strong links to Siena and providing an evocative name for a financial institution that would gain international importance. Throughout central and northern Italy, bankers provided both the economic impetuses along with civic leadership that were important to the flourishing of the Renaissance. At this time, Monte dei Paschi established its enduring role as patron of the arts, with its philanthropy extending to scientific research, health, education and wel- fare. These obligations were defined by statute that to this day governs the distri- bution of a share of profits. The other important historical legacy comes from the system of sharecropping that originated as early as the 9th century in signed contracts by the Abbotts of Mount Amiata. Mezzadria, a system that split all yields evenly between the peas- ants tilling the soil and their mainly urban-based landlords, became dominant throughout central Italy in the 13th and 14th centuries. As late as 1947 nearly two- thirds of farmland in four Tuscany provinces was operated as mezzadria (Pratt, 1994). The most enduring impact on the present landscape is the collection of large farmhouses found throughout the countryside that often accommodated large extended families that would be necessary to work the modest-sized farms. The size of these old farmhouses contributes to an agrarian landscape that maintains a human scale even if most of the farm labour has since been shed. Multi-cropping was necessitated by the reliance on draught power for ploughing, to meet the sub- sistence needs of the farm families and to provide diversification for the benefit of both landlord and tiller. The commercialisation of the sector that began in the late 19th century saw the emergence of the fattoria – the manager of the collection of farms in an estate that specified cultivation of the individual farms, who operated the capital equipment of the estate including mills and presses and eventually tractors and threshers. However, the economic rationalisation of farming activities
- 33. Siena as Representative Rural Region or Archetype? 27 © OECD 2002 by fattoria diffused gradually with the main impact being that the landlord housed and controlled the production factors that were becoming more important to the modernisation of agriculture. The weak response to the crisis in sharecropping after 1953, combined with the peripheral status in the Tuscan economy – both in terms of limited infrastruc- ture links and a symbolic distance from the neighbouring regional capital in Florence – all contributed to Siena’s limited encounter with industrialisation. Siena and Florence, as the locations of the main wine producing estates in Tuscany, were excluded from the redistributive land reform that affected the rest of the region. Although there were government programs in place to help tenants finance the purchase of the farms they tilled, this was often not an economically viable option given substantial deferred investment and the lack of important means of production that resulted from the fattoria system. In addition, the lack of an active land reform agency meant that many of the collective inputs required for the transformation from estate agriculture to family farm agriculture were not pro- vided. Not surprisingly, the rural exodus from the province was immense with Montalcino and its surrounding areas losing half its population in the 1950s and early 1960s. In contrast to other predominantly rural areas where the transforma- tion of agriculture released labour – often with good mechanical skills – to the local light manufacturing industry, this dynamic in Siena was for the most part absent. The exception to this was the northern part of the province (Poggibonsi- Colle area) where traditional activities, such as furniture, upholstery and glassmak- ing, along with carpentry and small mechanics aimed at meeting local markets were absorbed into the industrial system of small and medium concerns coming from the Florence-Pistoia area. In stark contrast to the rest of the province, the Poggibonsi-Colle area saw its population increase from 14 000 to 32 000 between 1951 and 1971. Transportation infrastructure is also indicated as a critical factor in the prov- ince’s limited encounter with industrialisation. However, as an enabling rather than propulsive factor of economic growth, its role as a determining factor must be assessed with caution. Certainly, the timing of various investments does not support the hypothesis that a relative deficiency in infrastructure caused the partial and weak response to industrialisation. Until the beginning of the 1960s, the Province of Siena was crossed by the main road connection between Florence and Rome (the Via Cassia, SS 2, which followed the route of the Mediaeval Via Francigena) and was skirted by the main railway line (then one of the few electrified, twin-track lines) which ran along the Val di Chiana with a minor line (single track, diesel traction) which connected many of the municipalities in the province. It was not until the construction of the A1 motorway in the 1960s (the “Sunshine Highway”) and a few years later the Rome-Florence high-speed railway line, that the relative accessibil- ity of the province was more seriously constrained. The frail response to industri-
- 34. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 28 © OECD 2002 alisation in the two decades following the war when relative accessibility was good would appear as confirmation of the weak industrial aspirations of the province. The eventual routing of the Sunshine Highway and high speed rail line – rather than being a cause of Siena’s limited engagement with industrialisation – might be regarded as reinforcement of an alternative path to which it was predisposed. In fact, the most compelling argument for a determinative role of infrastruc- ture is the extent to which this marginalisation of accessibility locked in an alterna- tive that was more dependent on enhanced quality-of-life rather than augmenting productive capacity. The reconfirmation of its peripheral position, the partial and weak industrial answer, the necessity to conform to EC agricultural directives that required leaving more “marginal lands” out of the production circuit, focused attention on quality agriculture that began to emerge in the 1970s. These develop- ments would soon be followed by the first experiments of agri-tourism activities. The former crises in estate agriculture facilitated the infusion of non-local capital into the wine industry that could merge the local conditions to produce world class wines with an evocative image of the Tuscan countryside. In the town of Siena, the importance of the three venerable institutions discussed above increased in step with the growing importance of service industries. The Monte dei Paschi, which had emerged from the 1929 crisis in a position of strengthened national importance, maintained headquarters operations of an increasingly inter- national operation in town. Demand for college education increased dramatically at this time in Italy, to the benefit of the university. Several important pharmaceu- tical industries have long-established operations in Siena that have benefited from the research capabilities of the university. The culmination of these distant and more recent epochs has resulted in a Sienese model of development that draws on a diverse set of economic systems that have co-evolved with the natural and cultural systems of the province. It is the diversification into a number of often interdependent activities rather than the exploitation of single resources that provides the main source of resilience that has become increasingly evident since the 1970s and creates the main challenges for sustainable development. This is probably most evident in agriculture where the very survival of the vocation of farming is dependent on the ability to “close the loop” of the modern agri-alimentary system that currently provides an insufficient market income to primary producers, subsidised by the State. Closing the loop is dependent on local processing, marketing and distribution that is able to connect final products to a quality orientation made most evident to potential consumers by the integrity of the Siena countryside, which itself is most dependent on the produc- tion decisions of farmers. But clearly, the success of such a strategy is also depen- dent on the viability of tourism, service provision and the complex interaction of activities that intervene on the countryside. Similar interdependencies are evi- dent within and between the manufacturing sector, services-producing sectors,
- 35. Siena as Representative Rural Region or Archetype? 29 © OECD 2002 hospitality industry and the cultural patrimony of the province. The risk is that crit- ical systems that are not directly valued in the market will not be maintained at a level necessary for fully exploiting their contribution for adapting to change. One expression of this sentiment emerged in the meetings with local actors: “A strong linkage of the various stages of production provides the unique opportunity to explore interaction of culture, ideas and skills. From ancient times the people were capable of finding solutions to problems that are dependent on local resources. There has always been this ability to analyse and adjust to economic trends. This is part of the cultural reality. This is extremely important as it allows us to understand how we can create microeconomies that are capable of adjusting to change.” (OECD mission to Siena, April 2001) The requisite task in meeting this challenge is to identify and make visible the whole complex of resources and the activities underpinning the territorial economies of the province. Sustainable development of the province can then emerge from public consultation and design of rules that ensure the permanence and reproducibility of the identified factors. We thus arrive at the current stage in the province, which is taking stock of its recent past success and trying to construct a governance framework that will allow the durable contribution of these territorial assets to development into perpetuity. Both the Provincial Territorial Co-ordination Plan (PTCP) and Strategic Plan are directed to the objective of sustainable devel- opment. Documenting provincial experience at this point thus provides insight into other areas implementing or planning similar initiatives, the opportunity for outside experts to critically assess and comment on the substance of these instru- ments and the processes used in developing them, and allows us to draw upon the experience in other regions that may be particularly instructive as regards the improvement of these instruments. Taken together, the challenges and opportunities currently facing Siena delin- eate an archetype of sustainable development for territories defined by low pop- ulation density, a diverse set of economic activities and a substantial endowment of natural and cultural amenities. It is in this regard that the “exceptional” charac- teristics of Siena may be most productive in suggesting productive reform to rural policy. Rural policies cannot be homogenous. In the past, public policies have tended to focus on rural areas as a block – assuming a uniform set of problems and opportunities defined principally by supposed contrasts with urban areas. Such an approach no longer reflects the present development opportunities for rural areas, if it ever did. Rather, different types of rural areas will present different problems to be addressed by public policies and different possibilities for devel- opment. A comparison exercise presented later in the Review, matching Siena to other structurally similar rural provinces in Europe, demonstrates the consider- able policy leverage of a more targeted approach. The surprising result of this exercise demonstrates that half of the comparison provinces exceeded the employment creation performance of their respective countries while the other
- 36. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 30 © OECD 2002 half lagged behind. Policies designed to improve the opportunities for sustain- able development of the laggard provinces are likely to be more efficacious if they are instructed by the experience of structurally similar areas that can reasonably share similar objectives. In this respect, the experience of Siena will be most use- ful for those rural areas that recognise an affinity for amenities-based rural devel- opment strategies. Before elaborating on the possibilities for sustainable development in rural areas with a rich endowment of amenities, it is instructive to examine the problems of reproduction that are arguably more common across the diversity of rural areas. Problems of reproduction As the lattice critical to both cultural and economic systems in the province, ensuring environmental integrity is essential to the reproduction of the Sienese model. There are currently two principal threats to meeting this objective. The first is that created by the large tourist flows that stream into the province, most evident at the renowned attractions but extending to traffic congestion during peak summer months in the countryside. However, as a repository of a consider- able amount of Western cultural heritage, exclusion is not seen as a constructive option for addressing this problem. As the location of three UNESCO World Heritage sites, actors in the province perceive an obligation of ensuring access to all of its cultural treasures. Viable means of tackling the problem include initiatives for the better management of tourist itineraries, making the logistics for meeting these itineraries more sustainable, and by promoting the supply of services that appeal to quality cultural tourism as opposed to mass tourism perceived as more harmful to preservation efforts. Attempts to alter demand patterns are also being pursued; this has been reliant on the co-operation of tour operators and the educational efforts of UNESCO and the World Tourism Organisation. The second threat comes from economic pressures on the agriculture sector that may promote unsustain- able farming practices, a widespread concern across rural areas. It is generally agreed that the subsidy scheme under the Common Agricultural Policy has not promoted sustainable farming practice, with mono-cropping in cereals, oilseeds, and protein crops advantaged by a high degree of mechanisation, relatively low labour input and reliance on industrial inputs for controlling pests and weeds and to bolster degraded soil fertility. Incentives for whole farm conversions to organic agriculture have helped to reduce the most harmful environmental practices but take-up has been modest. In the market-oriented wine sector, there have also been efforts to reduce variable input costs through increased mechanisation that often degrade the landscape and create erosion problems. Linking products sold on the market to the authentic integrity of the territory is clearly one way to pro-
- 37. Siena as Representative Rural Region or Archetype? 31 © OECD 2002 vide incentives for more desirable farm practices, but this will also require collec- tive agreement as to the responsibilities of the agriculture sector. Current demographic trends that foreshadow long-term implications for the reproduction of the Sienese model must be assessed with respect to potential points of policy leverage. Indeed, a critical resource for ensuring preservation of the landscape or restoration of architectural and artistic treasures is the availabil- ity of skilled human capital. To date, the majority of this has been supplied indige- nously, with its future supply threatened by a negative natural balance. While there is evidence that more of these functions are being filled by non-natives – especially the restoration efforts that have taken on international importance – there is consid- erable uncertainty regarding the long-term impacts on these traditional vocations. While aspirations of the school-age generation cannot be definitively known or regu- lated, there is some evidence that a Siena birthright is an important factor in eco- nomic activities that help to preserve traditional practice. For example, multi- cropping by wine-growers in Montalcino is practised almost exclusively on locally owned vineyards. More generally, in-depth knowledge of the local cultural patri- mony is a salient characteristic of the Sienese. While the demographic factors impacting the rate of natural balance are no doubt complex, finding ways to recon- cile the demands of work and family life may alter the reproductive choices of cou- ples. This is the most direct way to correct age imbalances that are becoming more pronounced in the province, and which also pose threats to the sustainability of the Siena model. Immigration may provide another means of moderating the effects of an age- ing population, dependent on the composition of migrants. However, even migrants of child-bearing age, which consistently demonstrate a tendency toward greater fertility than their native peers, will only have a modest effect on the age balance. This is because the migration process adds persons to the middle of the age distribution who inevitably age, eventually joining the ranks of the elderly. The current composition of in-migrants to Siena is dominated by non-EU nationals of child-bearing age who should make just such a modest contribution to the age balance. They are currently filling labour shortages in routine services, manufac- turing and farm wage-labour. Unfortunately, the investments required to actively assimilate them into the life of the province are currently lacking, especially with respect to housing and language training. As this component of the labour market is critically important to a large number of economic activities, inattention to the problems of easing their transition may impose significant economic costs on the province. These demographic trends will also have implications for service provision throughout the province, with the more intractable phenomena requiring techno- logical or organisational innovations. The tendency towards a fall in the birth-rate nearly everywhere weakens the prospects of any great demand in the future for all
- 38. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 32 © OECD 2002 the lower grade schools. In the case of the offer of the service of schools, it is therefore clear that it is very difficult to compensate for the lack of an urban effect on the territory. Unfortunately, schools are more widespread in those areas where alternative solutions would be more logical: in the belt surrounding Siena, that is to say where the urban effect is sufficient and residence in the outskirts is often the result of individual “choice”, there are a large number of municipal junior high schools, which, at least partly, could be replaced by the easy access to the admin- istrative centre, which is also where the commuters work and shop. In any case, outside the larger urban centres access to the service becomes increasingly more expensive, given the unquestionable hypothesis that the school system as cur- rently configured would become even more sparse throughout the territory in the future. Despite this gloomy forecast, ways must be found to ensure provision of tra- ditional educational services that will become even more essential to meeting human resource needs of the province. The relatively new requirements of the provision of opportunities for lifelong learning may provide needed room for manoeuvre. The empirical evidence suggesting a strong educational ethic in the province should also facilitate finding a solution. Strong foundations in literacy and numeracy will become increasingly important with the advent of the knowl- edge society requiring citizens and workers to comprehend and adapt quickly to new developments. Coupled with pervasive diffusion of ICT, globalisation and increased cross-border movement of people and ideas, education policy will, however, be required to move beyond developing competence in the basic skills. Lifelong learning strategies can serve as a key instrument for nurturing the knowl- edge society. They take account of learning over the whole course of a person’s life, whether it takes place in formal or informal settings, and recognise the multiplicity of objectives for which it is undertaken – personal, social and economic. Increased capabilities for distance learning come naturally to mind in the more sparsely popu- lated areas that characterise much of the province. As delivery nodes for diversified and specialised educational services, the minimum efficient scale of the traditional school may decline as it comes to serve a broader segment of the community. Espe- cially in light of the ambitious plans for high-speed electronic connections through- out the province, Siena could provide considerable opportunity for demonstrating an augmented role for traditional educational institutions. The necessity for bolstering the capabilities of economic actors is embodied in the single overarching strategy for maintaining competitiveness identified across economic sectors; namely, an emphasis on quality and continuous improvement as the indigenous sources of comparative advantage that should facilitate the required insertion into global economic networks. The acknowledge- ment that customer satisfaction comprises the only durable criteria for evaluating rival alternatives defines two spheres of ignorance: an understanding of what
- 39. Siena as Representative Rural Region or Archetype? 33 © OECD 2002 customers desire and an understanding of the processes in the production and distribution of an enterprise’s goods and services that affect the ability to meet these desires. This in turn defines a set of required competencies including the ability for substantive communication with customers, systematic thinking of pro- duction and distribution forming the basis of incremental innovation and the abil- ity to learn about possible advantages of alternative systems. These generic requirements extend from agriculture, to industry, to tourism and services, includ- ing public administration. Of course, the necessity of this ambition may be ques- tioned, given the large and growing number of captive customers who come as tourists to the province. This raises three important points regarding reproduction of the Siena model: 1) Siena is not synonymous with tourism; 2) tourism premised on opportunism is not sustainable; and 3) excessive economic dependence on tourism would undermine the local identity and sociability that has been essential to current economic success. In short, insertion into global economic networks will be required to avoid degeneration into a souvenir economy. The challenge of development Solving the problems of reproduction assures the continuation of current activities, but it is the challenge of development – expanding the opportunity set and the human capability required to fill these new spaces – that animates local actors. These challenges are most easily summarised as those related to spatial disparities, those related to new opportunities in both emerging and venerable economic sectors, and those related to the social and political life of the province. As the central concern of territorial development, it is important to note that spa- tial disparities persist in the province and provide the most obvious opportunities for development. Finding means for the diffusion of greater economic opportunity throughout the province will have the dual benefits of increased equity and hope- fully relieving pressures on the most popular tourism sites. There is also the expectation that the diverse set of economic activities currently located in the province will expand into emerging opportunities in biotechnology and informa- tion technology. An incubator has been established to promote the commerciali- sation of biotechnology while several firms are pursuing innovation in electronic security. In addition, the province is at the forefront in Italy in investigating the broader possibilities of the Information Society. Innovation also characterises the traditional activities in the province. Technologies to improve the interpretative content of museums and other exhibits are being actively developed while the status of wines from the area continues to improve in world markets as a result of innovation that better exploits the potential inherent in the climate, soil and vines. Finally, the province continues to improve democratic processes for defin- ing social purpose along with the capabilities of governance for fulfilling these objectives.
- 40. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 34 © OECD 2002 This promising horizon is a stark contrast to the possibilities commonly envi- sioned for predominantly rural areas. Rural development in the industrialised world has been plagued by the successive lowering of expectations, most recently by conjectures on the implications of globalisation. However, the origins of the thesis of declining rural advantage are premised on the relationship between pri- mary production and consumption. If comparative advantage of rural areas is lim- ited to primary production of food and fibre then rising levels of affluence will result in an inexorable decline in the relative share of consumer expenditures as demand for these products grows much slower than income. Productivity increases have bolstered the income level of farmers but decimated the number of workers employed in the sector. Although employment losses in agriculture have been taken up to some extent by employment in manufacturing and services industries, it is widely believed to be limited to those activities requiring the sig- nificant cost advantages offered by rural areas. Like primary production, these industries will also face declining relative demand. Worse still, with increasing glo- balisation such industries will have greater incentive to find lower cost production sites in less developed countries. Lacking the agglomeration economies of urban areas, it is believed that rural areas will be unable to compete on economic grounds, necessitating subsidies to rural industry or permanent regional transfers if the settlements are to be maintained. Growing demand among urban residents to experience quaint, bucolic and charming rural areas, reminiscent of simpler times, flowing at a slower pace, provides a brighter forecast. In this scenario, some rural areas will be maintained by increasing demand for the unique attributes available there. Rural areas are reconceived primarily as locations for nostalgic experience, landscapers come to fill the role of farmers and the village square becomes the marketplace for traditional crafts, foodstuffs and bric-à-brac produced in the surrounding countryside. The values that can be appropriated from rural areas thus come to be defined wholly from the “consumption” of rural attributes. To be sure, most rural areas do not possess the wealth of amenities, easily acces- sible to urban populations that could support a significant share of the current population. Those rural areas proximate to cities are increasingly likely to be absorbed into those conurbations. The consumption basis of the scenarios presented above mirrors the ambigu- ous objectives of modern conceptions of development concerned in some way with satisfying wants, that are being resolved in the new approaches to territorial development. The Italian District model offers a rejoinder to this earlier confusion by making heightened capabilities an end in themselves, independent of any enhanced ability to satisfy wants. This is not immediately apparent from the inter- national attention that has focussed mainly on their ability to generate employ- ment, promote innovation and provide above average incomes. However, more comprehensive ethnographic studies, both by Italian and international research-
- 41. Siena as Representative Rural Region or Archetype? 35 © OECD 2002 ers, confirm the central role that demonstrable competence plays in aligning the seemingly contradictory objectives of co-operation and competition. Inside an industrial district it is not enough to simply “build a better mousetrap” and collect any deserved acclaim in the market. Instead, collective tests of capability through sub-contractor or co-production relations both solidify inter-firm co-operation and prod a controlled competition – within as well as between firms. Market tests will ultimately determine the monetary value of this capability serving as a comple- ment to the collective test. The important point is that there is a social valuation of capability independent of its economic valuation: “The common solution [for the reconciliation of competition and co-operation and regenera- tion of resources required by the collectivity] is the fusion of productive activity, in the narrow sense, with the larger life of the community. The same experiences that teach people who they are teach them skills to acquire; how to collaborate; and what they may not do in their competition for honour in the community.” (Piore and Sabel, 1984, p. 275) As a province that already enjoys low unemployment and high income, the challenges in Siena are ill-defined with respect to the traditional preoccupations of rural development. A focus on augmenting the capabilities of citizens as both an end and means of development – in many ways parallel to augmenting the capabilities of workers in an industrial district – provides a clearer vision than incremental additions to the conventional indicators of income or job creation. Reinforcing this ambition are the ongoing discussions regarding the sustainable use of territorial capital linked to strategic planning, suggesting an ideal laboratory for elaborating this emerging vision of development. Indeed, this view of develop- ment that is more inclusive than a concern solely with economic outcomes is implicit in the debates regarding the impacts of infrastructure investment on the territory or, for that matter, the platitudes of sustainable development. Envision- ing the public concern regarding development as an increased “ability to lead the lives they have reason to value” (Sen, 1999) would provide debatable criteria for assessing the efficacy of proposed programming and policy. Unfortunately, the confirming market test that is provided in the industrial district model is not readily available. In this respect, the rural dimensions of the province in combina- tion with a “Tuscan way of thinking” that gives public consultation a privileged role are critical to the pragmatic application of these criteria. Development objectives directed to enlarging human capability would give clearer definition to the value of, say, expanding the feasible reproductive choices of families, or of being a farmer, or of preserving cultural heritage. New requirements of governance The preceding discussion makes explicit the tacit motivation that has helped direct the new tools for planning and development: planning and development
- 42. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 36 © OECD 2002 should contribute to citizens’ ability to lead the types of lives they have reason to value. More generally, the current preoccupation with sustainable development of interdependent environmental, social and economic systems embodies this same inclusiveness. The confirmation that “sustainable policies” cannot be evaluated solely with respect to quantitative indicators – whether simple or composite – dis- misses the usefulness of purely bureaucratic or technocratic solutions. Rather, new instruments of governance and planning must explicitly recognise the need to jointly assess the value of various ends and the efficacy of various means. For example, the debate over agricultural reform illuminates the interdependence of ends and means with the interests of various actors in the community. Is the end that is most valued the preservation of current cropping patterns sustained to now by Common Agricultural Policy subsidies? Is it generally believed that this policy has resulted in the development of human capabilities that are critical to sustain- ing the Sienese model? If so, are there viable means for achieving this end in the likely event that the level of supranational support will be reduced? If not, what should be the ends of policy directed to agriculture at the local level? Is the cen- tral interest augmenting the entrepreneurial capacity of farmers, or preserving an authentic Tuscan landscape or contributing to the gastronomic traditions of the territory or a combination of these and other ends? It is only when the ends of pol- icy are discussed and agreed upon that the effectiveness of measures to achieve them can be debated, implemented and assessed. The co-determination of ends and means presumes that territorial develop- ment can only proceed through shared guidance by relevant stakeholders. This is because each of the partners brings to the discussion different understandings of opportunities available, different risk assessments, different creative abilities for problem solving, and different types of resources that can be directed to realise agreed upon objectives. In addition, stakeholders who do not actively participate in the choice of strategy are unlikely to participate wholeheartedly in its imple- mentation. Indeed, they may be hostile and even obstructive to the chosen strat- egy. This is especially problematic if such stakeholders are being asked to contribute some of their own resources to implement the strategy, or if they have legal powers of veto over some of the elements of the strategy. The lengthy pro- cess involved in the development of the Provincial Territorial Co-ordination Plan (PTCP) spanning three years of consultation with representatives of Sienese society attests to the importance of a sense of shared ownership of planning tools. In light of this intensive effort it is significant that several architects of the document expressed regret that selected issues had not been more fully discussed by relevant actors in the community before drafts were publicly debated. While these debates did result in a resolution of unanticipated conflicts, this is likely because the points of contention were thought to impose additional costs on well-represented interests. This pre- sents the possibility that more diffuse interests in the territory may have as yet
- 43. Siena as Representative Rural Region or Archetype? 37 © OECD 2002 unresolved complaints about the PTCP. Legislation requiring that the PTCP be updated on a periodic basis mitigates the potential for this to dilute the effective- ness of the PTCP through time. However, tools for sustainable development require a broad consensus on the general framework if they are going to be suc- cessful in mediating conflicts that will inevitably arise from rival claims on the best reproducible use of resources. Within the context of sustainable development inclusiveness takes on much greater importance. This is probably best expressed in the collective interpretation of “territorial capital”. The central principle of discipline imposed on programming and plan- ning by the PTCP is that the permanence and reproducibility of territorial capital may be exploited or enhanced but never dissipated for personal gain. To the extent that much of this territorial capital is embodied in assets that are privately owned, the PTCP constrains individual choice. There is nothing new in the con- straint of individual choice in the pursuit of various social purposes. But the social purposes defined by the pursuit of sustainability extend the limit on acceptable behaviour to the prohibition of actions that impede the ability of future genera- tions to realise their full potential. Lacking representation, these interests can only be expressed by current members of the community acting as stewards for the unknown composition of the community into its enduring future. Thus, the constraints on individual action in the PTCP must be viewed within the larger domain defined by the community. Again, there are useful parallels in the discus- sion of the industrial district model for understanding how property is to be con- ceived within a sustainable society. “Property is to be held in trust for the community – its use subordinated to the community’s maintenance. It is this recognition of the indispensability of community that makes yeoman democracy – a form of collective individualism – the political analogue of the co-operative competition of craft production” (Piore and Sabel, 1984, p. 305). Investigating how this vision coheres with reality and the strategic develop- ment options of the province is thus a central preoccupation of the review. The review will also provide insight into the particular advantages and difficulties that predominantly rural regions have in pursuing sustainable development.
- 44. 39 © OECD 2002 Chapter 2 Territorial Patterns and Trajectories Introduction As a predominantly rural region with a generally favourable outlook, the Province of Siena presents a number of critical issues. First among these is the evolution of the province that has lead to the current prospect. Especially within the larger national context of significant regional dualism it is important to examine whether Siena represents a transformation of a formerly disadvantaged territory or is more indicative of the “rising tide” of north-central Italy. Comparisons with predomi- nantly rural areas more generally will address the extent to which Siena mirrors or contrasts other rural trends. Attention then moves to a more detailed assessment of the current situation in the province. The functional borders of the territory and the extent and mode of external interaction are discussed before moving to an analysis of the geographic distribution of resources throughout the province. Fac- tors that affect the productivity of these resources are then examined before assessing the potentials and threats for regional development. Comparison with other regions According to broad indicators, Siena has demonstrated exemplary perfor- mance for an Italian rural province. The overall economic achievement of the activ- ities in the Province of Siena is summarised in data on per capita income. The most recent estimation of per capita income in the province (1999), provided by the Istituto Tagliacarne (the National Union of the Chambers of Commerce) places Siena 41st, out of 103 Italian provinces. If we take 100 to be the average in Italy, the estimation for Siena is 5.7% over the average. Since the average of Italian regions is slightly higher than that of the European Union, it is estimated that the Sienese average is 9% higher than that. In particular, in Tuscany, Siena is second only to the heart of the Florentine metropolitan area (Florence and Prato) and is hence above the level of not only the peripheral areas but also a large part of the more extensive metropolitan area. Longitudinal data on per capita income provide insight into the path taken in arriving at this favourable position. While comparing Siena’s performance to each
- 45. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 40 © OECD 2002 of the other 102 Italian provinces would be intractable, grouping provinces by their level of per capita income in the initial and ending periods along with the rate of growth of this variable is more productive. Six distinctive “convergence clubs” emerge that correspond strongly with the differentiated experience of Italian prov- inces in the post-war period.1 The two extremes of this classification contrast the most dynamic provinces of Milano, Bologna and Modena with the stagnation of the Mezzogiorno (Figure 1). Siena is included in the group made up mainly of predomi- nantly rural and intermediate provinces that demonstrated stronger growth than the other grouping of such provinces. Siena avoided the marked decline in per capita income that characterised the group on average in the first years of the 1990s. In terms of the extent of income convergence over the period it is instructive to exam- ine Siena’s per capita income as a percentage of the wealthiest Italian province. In 1952, the first year for which data are available, the province’s per capita income was only 43.25% of the wealthiest province, Milano. By 1995, this share had risen to 67.94% of the top province’s per capita income (Bologna). While it is evident that Siena has undergone a significant transformation in the post-war period, much of the same can be said of Italy. However, the “peripheral” status of the province within Tuscany combined with considerable difficulty in adjust- ing to the crisis in share-cropping in the 1950s are suggestive of a considerable Figure 1. Per capita income change by provincial “convergence clubs” 1952-1995 Source: Silvia Fabiani and Guido Pellegrini, 1997. 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1952 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 Real per capita income Real per capita income Affluent modest growth Converging mainly metro Dynamic mainly metro SIENA Dynamic mainly int./rur. Lagging mainly int./rur. Mezzogiorno 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1952 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 Real per capita income Real per capita income Affluent modest growth Converging mainly metro Dynamic mainly metro SIENA Dynamic mainly int./rur. Lagging mainly int./rur. Mezzogiorno
- 46. Territorial Patterns and Trajectories 41 © OECD 2002 improvement in the relative status of the province that is not easily discernible from the evolution of per capita income. Examining the evolution of Siena’s income rank among Italian provinces provides a clearer picture. These data demonstrate that rel- ative status of the province has changed little over the 1952-1995 period, increasing only by 3 rungs, going from 39 to 36, or 53 to 56 in inverse rank in Figure 2 (data are limited to 92 of the 103 Italian provinces). While there is some volatility in Siena’s rank throughout the study period, most notably between the mid-1970s to early 1990s, the overall trend is one of a province that has maintained a modest advantage over the average. The evolution of provincial rank in the region of Tuscany is presented in Figure 2 to provide insight regarding the relative position of Siena to its proximate neighbours. This also provides added insight into the possible interpretation that Siena benefited largely from a “rising tide”. The two other pre- dominantly rural provinces in Tuscany – Grosseto and Arezzo – provide a strong contrast. The continuous decline in rank of Grosseto cautions against a simple interpretation. Location in Tuscany was no guarantee of sustained or elevated sta- tus. However, the increasing rank of Arezzo through the period suggests that there were other progressive examples of development of predominantly rural provinces in the region. Perhaps the most striking result is the strong similarity in the rank evolution of Florence – the regional capital and centre of Tuscany – and Siena since the 1980s. These results motivate a more detailed investigation Figure 2. Change in Italian rank by per capita income of selected Tuscany provinces 1952-1995 Source: Silvia Fabiani and Guido Pellegrini, 1997. 90 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1952 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 80 90 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 80 Inverse rank out of 92 Inverse rank out of 92 Pisa SIENA Florence Arezzo Grosseto 90 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1952 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 80 90 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 80 Inverse rank out of 92 Inverse rank out of 92 Pisa SIENA Florence Arezzo Grosseto
- 47. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 42 © OECD 2002 of both the relative status of Tuscany and a comparative analysis of the evolu- tion of per capita income limited only to predominantly rural provinces in Italy. Longitudinal data at the provincial level across EU countries are not avail- able, so extending this analysis directly to a cross-national comparison is not possible. However, an analysis of data at the regional level has confirmed the ascendance of the Tuscany region in a collection of EU regions. Using the Eurostat REGIO dataset, Garmise (1994) classifies EU regions on the basis of GDP, harmonised unemployment rates and population density, and the percent- age of the working population employed in agriculture, industry and services at 5 intervals between 1977 and 1990. On the basis of these attributes Tuscany begins as a member of the least favoured regional cluster in 1977 (including several southern Italian regions but also East Midlands and south-west United Kingdom), climbs into the intermediate cluster for the periods spanning 1981 to 1987 and finishes as a member of the top performing cluster in 1990. In quantitative terms, regional GDP per capita is probably the best summary measure of this performance and it is dem- onstrated that in 1977 Tuscany is slightly above the mean of the least favoured regions and ends in 1990 slightly below the mean of the cluster of the strongest regions (including regions such as south-east United Kingdom, Lombardy and Baden-Wurttemberg). The process of convergence demonstrated by Tuscany is a preoccupation of EU regional policy and so explanations for this performance are of considerable interest. The causative factors suggested are an economic struc- ture based on small-firm production, supportive regional institutions that have emerged from the strong political continuity in the post-war era, and a strong civic society. Returning to the longitudinal provincial data for Italy, it is also possible to provide some conjectures on the types of economic activities that are commonly thought to be associated with the more dynamic predominantly rural regions in the country. Figure 3 provides an illustration of the evolution of per capita income for predominantly rural Italian provinces grouped by their initial and ending income levels and the rate of growth.2 Siena’s performance closely matched the group of provinces that have had the most impressive performance, comprised of Arezzo, Belluno and Perugia. The model of development that characterises those predominantly rural provinces can be described as the combination of a strong SME sector with substantial tourism activity. These provinces have been able to improve their position relative to other Italian provinces over the 33-year period. Siena has also benefited from these same economic engines in realising a marginal increase in relative rank over the same period starting from a higher position rela- tive to this group. But as the graph clearly demonstrates, not all predominantly rural provinces have enjoyed the same degree of success. With the exception of the Emerging group of provinces from the Mezzogiorno – beginning with very low levels of income but enjoying faster rates of growth – other provinces have either
- 48. Territorial Patterns and Trajectories 43 © OECD 2002 stagnated or declined. Thus, while both the Converging and Emerging groups have been able to increase their relative rank, the fall of the other provinces has outweighed this progress. The average rank of predominantly rural provinces fell from 37 (out of 92, being the highest) to 33 between 1952 and 1995. There is thus a strong motivation at the national level, and indeed throughout OECD Member countries, to arrive at a better understanding of the factors that can contribute to better performance of predominantly rural regions. The province has also performed well with respect to employment. The statis- tics from Functional Labour Market Areas (LLMAs) demonstrate that the local sys- tem of Siena registered a notable growth in the rate of non-agricultural employment up to the beginning of the 1990s (Table 1). This performance outstripped growth in the national average during the 1971-1981 period, was marginally higher during the following decade when the national growth rate stagnated and fell off slightly in the 1991-1996 period when the nation recorded a modest gain. If we order all the 784 Italian local systems for the value of the employment rate, we see that Siena was 179 in 1971, 135 in 1981 and 112 in 1991, with a decline to 146 in 1996 (Table 2). This suggests that Siena is actually in a good position concerning the employment rate, thanks to its good performance during the 1971-1991 period. As will be discussed in more detail below (Box 1), the province has demonstrated employment growth performance superior to Italy. Figure 3. Change in per capita income for predominantly rural Italian provinces 1952-1995 Source: Silvia Fabiani and Guido Pellegrini, 1997. 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1952 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Real per capita income Real per capita income Declining Converging SIENA Emerging Lagging 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1952 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Real per capita income Real per capita income Declining Converging SIENA Emerging Lagging
- 49. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 44 © OECD 2002 With respect to the traditional indicators of income and employment, the province of Siena has performed admirably. However, the long-term prospects may not be as favourable if several threats to the reproducibility of the Siena model are not defused. These were outlined in the previous chapter and will be examined in more detail in this and subsequent chapters. Functional borders of the territory and interaction Although the northern border of the province is increasingly linked to the economic activities of the adjoining Province of Florence, Sienese society main- tains a unique cultural identity within Tuscany. The annual festivals of the Palio, highlighted by a bare-back horse race around the Piazza del Campo, is the most con- crete manifestation of this. The event, in its current format, dates back to 1656 combining a strong historical link to defiance against outside oppressors with the celebration of politics, co-operation and cunning that determines the one victor from the city’s 17 neighbourhoods (contradas). Although the spectacle has attracted outsiders for centuries, it is regarded as an event that serves principally to reaffirm the residents’ strong attachment to the territory. A more subtle mani- festation of this is the high visitation rates of local residents to the various cultural attractions throughout the province. Cultural development is regarded as an essential element of Sienese identity and the museum system fills this need. As one resident put it, “museums are much more than warehouses or hospitals for artefacts – they are critical to the unfolding cultural life of the province”. This strong sense of local iden- tity is an important resource for effective governance that is realised in the Table 1. Non-agricultural employment rate per year Source: ISTAT. 1971 1981 1991 1996 Local system of Siena 43.6 49.4 51.0 50.4 Italy 42.0 42.9 42.9 43.1 Table 2. Ranking in employment rate per year Source: ISTAT. 1971 1981 1991 1996 Local system of Siena 179 135 112 146
- 50. Territorial Patterns and Trajectories 45 © OECD 2002 Box 1. Comparison with matched territories Siena is representative of a class of other rural areas in Europe that com- bine the seemingly contradictory attributes of reasonable access to relatively large cities1 with a relatively low population density. Using the employment structure in agriculture, manufacturing and services as additional classification criteria, a smaller number of provinces with an even stronger similarity to Siena emerge.2 The matched territories are listed in Table 3 along with relevant struc- tural characteristics and recent employment performance relative to own national performance. The matching exercise produces some interesting results. All of the compari- son provinces are in France and Italy despite the fact that all NUTS 3 areas in European OECD countries were included in the comparison algorithm. More curi- ous is the tendency for the algorithm to identify a number of provinces or dépar- tements that have developed a reputation for the production of world class wines or spirits: Cognac from Charente, Burgundies from Saône-et-Loire, and several ris- ing stars from the Côtes-du-Rhône villages’ appellations are from the Drôme. The tendency for clustering algorithms to generate detailed associations from a rela- tively simple set of structural characteristics is suggestive of their power to quickly identify productive comparison candidates. It is notable that the recent performance of structurally similar regions demon- strates considerable divergence in their ability to generate employment relative to national performance. Possible explanations for this variation can lend considerable Table 3. NUTS 3 level territories with a strong structural similarity to the Province of Siena Source: Territorial Indicators Database, TDS. Region name, country % of rural population Employment performance compared to national Population total Density Employment % sector Population 1995 Population 2000 Agriculture Industry Services Ardennes, France 55.9 Lagging 293 100 290 900 55.6 7.3 32.8 60.0 Charente, France 59.9 Leading 341 100 339 900 57.1 10.2 32.3 57.5 Drôme, France 53.7 Lagging 428 400 436 500 66.8 7.0 29.0 64.0 Saône-et-Loire, France 60.2 Leading 552 500 546 500 63.7 7.6 32.8 59.6 Tarn, France 60.6 Lagging 341 900 343 000 59.6 9.0 26.3 64.7 Vienne, France 65.3 Leading 392 900 398 500 57.0 6.9 26.5 66.5 Isernia, Italy 65.3 Lagging 92 300 91 900 60.1 13.9 28.3 57.8 Rieti, Italy 56.9 Leading 150 100 150 600 54.8 12.3 24.0 63.7 Siena, Italy 53.9 Leading 251 200 252 000 65.9 7.8 27.8 64.3
- 51. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 46 © OECD 2002 Box 1. Comparison with matched territories (cont.) insight to the critical factors of growth given the strong similarity in structural character- istics. The broad characteristics of structure used to match these provinces could mask significant differences at a more disaggregate level. Unfortunately, limited data avail- ability at the NUTS 3 level do not allow a rigorous test of this hypothesis. Qualitative information indicates that several of the leading regions are home to technologically dynamic sectors such as the multimedia sector connected with Futuroscope in Vienne, contract manufacturing of advanced electronics in Rieti or the expertise in plastics, imagery and mechanical engineering in Saône-et-Loire. But significant high technology activity in the Drôme has not resulted in employment performance superior to the nation.3 The value and density of cultural and natural amenities are characteristics that immediately come to mind in any comparison with Siena, and are not represented in the matching criteria. Siena is arguably the only province widely recognised interna- tionally as a tourist destination in the group and this is an obvious contributor to recent employment performance. To get a general impression of the attractiveness of the comparison areas to tourism the classification from the Michelin Green Guides are used (Table 4). There is a consistent association between the relative attractiveness of an area and its employment performance. In the four most attractive provinces or départements, only one area had employment performance lagging behind national performance. In contrast, three of the five at the lower half of the ranking were charac- terised by lagging employment performance. Table 4. The attractiveness of the matched territories to tourism Siena: *** Siena and San Gimignano; ** Montelpuciano, Pienza, Monte Oliveto Maggiore; * Chiusi; Tarn:*** Albi, Cordes-sur-Ciel; * Castres; Vienne: *** Futuroscope; ** Poitiers, St-Savin; Saône-et-Loire: ** Cluny, Cormatin, Tournus; * Chalon-sur-Saône; Charente: ** Angoulême; Drôme: ** Grignan; Ardennes: * Charleville; Rieti: * Greccio. Source: Le Guide Vert: Italie and Le Guide Vert: France, Michelin Editions des Voyages. Province/département Number of sites worth a trip *** Number of sites meriting a detour ** Number of interesting sites * Employment performance Siena, Italy 2 3 1 Leading Tarn, France 2 0 1 Lagging Vienne, France 1 2 0 Leading Saône-et-Loire, France 0 3 1 Leading Charente, France 0 1 0 Leading Drôme, France 0 1 0 Lagging Ardennes, France 0 0 1 Lagging Rieti, Italy 0 0 1 Leading Isernia, Italy 0 0 0 Lagging
- 52. Territorial Patterns and Trajectories 47 © OECD 2002 common observation that consultation has become an instinctual component of public decision making in the province. Travel through the province will confirm its well-identifiable constituent parts (Val d’Elsa, Val di Merse, Chianti Senese, Siena and the Masse, the Crete, Val d’Orcias, Val di Chiana and Monte Amiata). But this differentiation is set against a strongly homogeneous background that has united the territories and the towns presently forming part of the province since the Middle Ages, and owing to the concentration of cultural, architectural and envi- ronmental assets which cause the Sienese territory to stand out from surrounding ones. This strong sense of identity, however, can interfere with efforts at horizontal Box 1. Comparison with matched territories (cont.) The wide variability in performance identified in past empirical research suggests that growth in predominantly rural regions may be more dependent on leadership capability and institutions that assist in the co-ordination of economic objectives and interests. Unfortunately, this hypothesis is the most difficult to assess in quanti- tative terms and thus additional insight may benefit most from the systematic selection of cases for more in-depth qualitative analysis. While beyond the scope of the current review, the potential value of this approach is demon- strated by the coincident parallel review of the Champagne-Ardenne region in France and the selection of the Ardennes département by the matching algo- rithm as structurally similar to Siena (OECD 2002). That review identifies three critical deficiencies in the region that need to be addressed: a weak sense of regional identity that lacks a focussed vision of development; the external ori- entation of many interests that often fail to co-ordinate mutual internal inter- ests; and a civil society lacking dynamism that, among other consequences, has been unable to valorise an otherwise rich endowment of natural and cultural amenities. The reviews of Siena and Champagne-Ardenne are not directly com- parable as the former examines a predominantly rural province while the latter is concerned with territorial development in an intermediate region that includes predominantly rural départements, including the Ardennes. Nevertheless, the detailed information available to compare a leading area and a lagging area is consonant with the hypothesis that the capacity of local government and civil society are critical to the economic performance of regions. 1. Less than two hours travel time to a city of 350 000 or a city with an international airport. See Irmen, et al. (2001). 2. See Isserman and Merrifield (1987) who use cluster algorithms to select counties that are statistically close to each other to construct quasi-experiments of policy initiatives. 3. Comparable data by detailed industries could go a long way in identifying possible engines of economic growth in predominantly rural areas. See Wojan and Pulver (1995).
- 53. OECD Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy 48 © OECD 2002 co-operation, especially among municipalities bordering surrounding provinces, as these efforts have at times been perceived as affronts to the provincial admin- istration. Siena’s projection into the wider economy ranges from its international stand- ing as a city of culture and as the origin of some of the world’s finest wines, to its national reputation with respect to financial services, university education and Information Society initiatives. The most striking feature of these various capabili- ties is the link between strong historical roots and the willingness to innovate. Siena’s allure as a destination for cultural tourism has been enhanced by the cre- ation of the Sienese Museum System in 1990, discussed further below. The history of fine wine in the province predates many of these cultural endowments, but it has only been in the last two decades that select wines from Tuscany are consid- ered among the best in the world. This too has been based on a willingness to inno- vate that has produced the anomalous result that several of the best wines have one of the wine sector’s least stringent classifications (IGT Toscana). The use of this clas- sification has given their winemakers much greater flexibility in the selection of grape varietals and production techniques relative to the more stringent DOC and DOCG classifications. Other industrial sectors that have a strong export orientation include crystal, motor caravans and pharmaceuticals. It is estimated that the Colle val d’Elsa area produces 95% of Italian crystal objects thus comprising the bulk of Italy’s 5% share of total world production. Great Britain, Germany, the United States, Japan and Australia alone account for 55% of the sector’s exports. The highest con- centration of Italian motor caravan production is located in the area around Poggibonsi and the neighbouring municipality of Barberino (in the Province of Florence), producing 80% of the vehicles made in Italy. This includes major national and international companies such as Caravan Internationals, Laika and Mobilvetta. The pharmaceutical sector has benefited from Siena’s long history of research and production in the medical field. At present, research units of the highest level are active in the Sienese area as well as production units for the German based Bayer company and the California based Chiron company, working in the fields of immunological and biotechnological research. These companies have also established scientific and technological research projects in collabora- tion with departments at the University of Siena (Box 2). Despite the presence of sometimes high profile export specialisations the relative levels of export activity are lower than in northern Italy. Indeed, export activity in Siena is also lower than in Tuscany as a whole. Quantitatively, the low relative export levels indicate the limited international projection of Sienese industry. Another indicator confirms this finding: the capacity to make or receive investments in or from foreign countries. Table 5 allows comparing the “propensity for internationalisation” among Italian provinces, the index rising with greater investment in or from foreign countries relative to the local industrial base. This
- 54. Territorial Patterns and Trajectories 49 © OECD 2002 highlights clearly the relationship between local production forces and export intensity or the intensity of investment operations in or from foreign countries. Provinces in the north of Italy tend to have high positive values; the centre of Italy has intermediate values and the south has values that are decidedly below the average. The Province of Siena is in perfect line with these trends. It has a modest rate of industrialisation, modest export levels and a modest capacity to make investments in or receive investments from foreign countries. Box 2. An example of excellence Chiron Spa was set up in 1992 through the merger between the Vaccine Department of Sclavo and one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies, the Californian Chiron Corporation. The Istituto Sieroterapico e Vaccinogeno Toscano Sclavo (Toscano Sclavo Serotherapeutical and Vaccinogene Institute), with its seat in Siena, was founded by Achille Sclavo in 1904 and acquired an international importance in 1963, when Albert Sabin, who was the inventor of the vaccine against poliomyelitis, chose exactly Sclavo as the world producer for his vaccine. In its seats of Siena and of Rosia, the company employs approximately 800 persons, 110 of which work as researchers. The Chiron Research Centre of Siena is in the world’s lead for the study of new vaccines: it set up the first acellular against pertussis by using genetic engi- neering techniques. In 2001, the budget of the Vaccine Department of Siena was increased up to ITL 25 billion only in the sector of Basic and Applied Research, therefore the per- sonnel has been augmented: the staff (researchers, graduate students and schol- arship holders) has changed from 60 to 110 persons in the last two years. There is a close relationship between the University of Siena, which organ- ised a Research Doctorate in Biotechnologies within the Department of Molecular Biology, and the biotechnological research companies having their seat in Siena. For example, the Department of Biological Chemistry at Torre Fiorentina, within Chiron Spa structure, offers the students the chance to carry out their vocational training within an industrial framework. Such research frameworks that are connected to the university could be eas- ily given a substantial boost and increase the attraction level for further parallel activities, by exploiting also the telematic network that is going to link the whole town of Siena. In fact, the primary aim of the telematic project is to be able to place the col- laboration among research centres on the Web also as an element of attraction for new structures and initiatives.
- 55. Exploring the Variety of Random Documents with Different Content
- 56. escapes them not. They are angry, terrible deities; they punish those who do not honour the gods; they avenge falsehood and sin. But to those who serve them, they forgive their transgressions. Varuna, whose special duty it is to punish the offences of men, is entreated in the hymns, with the greatest earnestness, to pardon transgression and sin. In the conception of the hymns of the Rigveda, he is the highest lord of heaven and earth. In the waters of heaven he dwells in a golden coat of mail, in his spacious golden house with a thousand doors. He has shown to the sun his path; he has excavated their beds for the rivers, and causes them to flow into the sea; his breath sounds with invigorating force through the breezes. He knows the way of the winds, and the flight of birds, and the course of ships on the sea. He knows all things in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. Even he who would fly further than the sky extends is not beyond his power. He numbers the glances of the eyes of men; where two men sit together and converse, king Varuna is a third among them.[97] He knows the truth and falsehood of men; he knows their thoughts, and watches them as a herdman his herd. His coils, threefold and sevenfold, embrace them who speak lies. "May he remain unscathed by them who speak truth," is the prayer of the invocations. "Was it for an old sin, Varuna," we read in a prayer, "that thou wishest to destroy thy friend, who praises thee? Absolve us from the sins of our fathers, and from those which we committed with our own bodies. Release Vasishtha, O king, like a thief who has feasted on stolen oxen; release him like a calf from the rope. It was not our own doing that led us astray, O Varuna, it was necessity (or temptation), an intoxicating draught, passion, dice, thoughtlessness. The old is there to mislead the young; even sleep brings unrighteousness. Through want of strength, thou strong and bright god, have I gone wrong: have mercy, almighty, have mercy. I go along trembling, like a cloud driven before the wind; let not us guilty ones reap the fruit of our sin. Let me not yet enter into the house of clay, king Varuna. Protect, O wise god, him who praises thee. Whenever we men, O Varuna, commit an offence before the
- 57. heavenly host, whenever we break the law through thoughtlessness, have mercy, almighty, have mercy."[98] The chief offering which the Aryas made to the spirits of the sky, was of ancient origin; even before they entered the land of the Indus, at the time when they were one nation with their fellow- tribesmen of Iran—this libation had been established. It was a drink- offering, the juice of a mountain plant, the soma, or haoma of the Irans, which they offered. The expressed sap of this plant, which is the asclepias acida of our botanists, mixed with milk, narcotic and intoxicating, was to the Arya the strongest, most exhilarating liquor, a drink fit for their gods. According to the Rigveda, a tamed falcon brought the soma from the summit of the sky, or from the tops of the mountains, where Varuna had placed it. The drink of the soma inspires the songs of the poet, heals the sick, prolongs life, and makes the poor believe themselves rich. The rites of preparing the soma were already widely developed when the songs of the Rigveda over the offering were composed. The sacrificial vessels were washed out with kuça-grass, and with "the sacred word," i. e. with traditional forms of words. The plants of the soma—according to the rubrics of later times, they are to be collected by moonlight on the hills,[99]—were crushed between stones. In the Veda we are told that the suppliants "squeeze the soma with stones." The liquor thus obtained was then strained through a sieve, with songs and incantations. The sieve appears to have been made out of the hairs of a ram's tail, and the juice is pressed through it with the ten sisters, i. e. with the fingers; "it rushes to the milk as fiercely as the bull to the cow." The sound of the drops of the golden fluid falling into the metal vessels is the roaring of the bulls, the neighing of the horses of Indra, "the hymn of praise, which the song of the minstrel accompanies."[100] The drink thus prepared was then placed in the sacrificial vessel, on outspread, delicate grass, over which was laid a cloth. Then the Açvins, Vayu, the Maruts, Indra were invoked to descend, to place themselves at the sacrificial cloth, and drink the draught prepared for them. According to the faith of the Aryas, Indra
- 58. fights on the side of the tribe whose soma offering he has drunk, and gives the victory to them. The invocations to Indra, to the Maruts, and the Açvins, who were considered mightiest and most influential in inviting and bringing down the gods to the sacrifice, are preserved in the Rigveda. It would be futile to attempt to distinguish in detail the exuberant abundance of conceptions and pictures which the young and vigorous fancy of the Indians has embodied in the songs of the Veda. One poetical idea presses on another; scarcely a single image is retained for any length of time, so that we not unfrequently receive the impression of a restless variety, of uncertain effort, of flux and confusion. On the other hand, it is impossible to deny that in these poems there is a freshness and vigour of thought, a wide sympathy and moral earnestness. Beside the most lively conceptions of the phenomena of the heavens, the formation of clouds and storms; besides deep delight in nature, and a sensuous view of natural life, we find attempts to form a comprehensive, exhaustive idea of the nature of God, the beginnings of reflection and abstraction. If this contrast proves that the poems of the Veda were divided in their origin by intervals of time, we can hardly be wrong if we look upon the naïve, coarse and sensuous conceptions as the older, and the attempts at combination and abstraction as of later origin. Yet the basis of that conception of moral purity, of the just avenging power of the high deities of light, Mitra and Varuna, cannot be regarded as of later date, since it occurs also in the Mitra of the Iranians. We can hardly find a more naïve conception than the view expressed in the poems of the Veda that the sacrifice not only gives food and drink to the hungry deities, but also gives them the power to fulfil their duties. The offering of soma strengthens Indra in the battles which he has to fight against the evil spirits; it invigorates him for the struggle against the enemies of the tribe whose offering he drinks. The god requires strength for the contest; and this, according to the peculiar view of the Indians, is increased by the offering of soma made to him. And not only does the offering give strength, it inspires the god for battle. Just as men sought courage
- 59. in drinking, so does Indra drink courage from the sacrificial goblet. If Indra is to give wealth and blessing, if he is to fight victoriously his ever-recurring struggle against Vritra and Ahi, to win the fructifying moisture, and contend in the ranks of the tribe, the "honey-sweet" soma must be prepared for him without ceasing, he must be invoked to harness his horses, and place himself at the meal of the sacrifice, and exhilarate himself with the drink prepared for him; in his exhilaration, victory over the demons is certain; he will fight invincibly before the ranks of his friends. His enemies, we are told of Indra, he overcomes in the inspiration of the soma. "Drink, Indra, of the soma like a wise man, delighting thyself in the mead; it is good for exhilaration. Come down, Indra, who art truly a bull, and drink thyself full; drink the most inspiring of drinks. The intoxicating drink of the rich gives bulls."[101] By the side of conceptions such as this, the invocation praises the lofty power, the sublime nature of the gods, in moving images, which attempt, to the utmost degree, to glorify the power of the god to whom they are addressed. They elevate him and his power above the other gods, and concentrate the divine action in the deity to whom the prayer or thanksgiving is made, at the expense of his divine compeers. The object was to win by prayer and sacrifice the grace of the deity who was invoked. In this manner Agni, Surya, Indra, Mitra, and Varuna are celebrated as the highest deities. Of Indra we are told that none of the gods is like him; that none can contend with him; that before him, the thunderer, all worlds tremble. He is the lord of all; the king of the firm land and flowing water; his power has set up the ancient hills, and causes the streams to flow; he sustains the earth, the nourisher of all; he has created the sky, the sun, the dawn; he has fixed the lights of the sky; should he desire to take up both worlds—the heaven and earth—it would be but a handful for him. Who of the seers of old has seen the limits of his power?[102] As we have observed, the form of the mighty storm-god which grew up in the land of the Indus, had driven back the ancient forms of Mitra and Varuna, and thus the minstrels found a strong tendency to unite in the mighty warrior, the thunderer, the sum total of divine power. But
- 60. Mitra and Varuna were not forgotten; and as the warlike life fell into the back-ground, and the impulse to seize the unity of the divine nature became stronger, these ancient forms were in their turn more easily idealized, and framed into a higher ethical conception than was possible with the peculiarly warlike nature of Indra. In the songs of praise addressed to Varuna, which have been quoted, it is impossible not to see the effort to concentrate in him as the highest god the highest divine power. If in the conception of the gods in the Veda we find besides sensuous views important ethical elements, and traits transcending sense, we also find in the worship of the Aryas, in the relation of man to the gods, a certain simplicity coexisting with sharply defined ethical perception. Men pray to the gods for protection against the evil spirits, for the preservation and increase of the herd, for help in sickness, and long life, for victory in battle. It is allowed that sacrifices are offered in order to obtain treasures and wealth. Indra is to "give gift for gift;" he is to send wealth "so that one may wade therein to the knee." From this the god will obtain his advantage in turn; if Indra gives horses, chariots and bulls, sacrifices will be offered without ceasing.[103] Like flies round a jar of honey, we are told in another place, do the suppliants sit round the bowl of the offering; as a man sets his foot in the chariot, so does the host of minstrels longing for treasure place their confidence in Indra.[104] In a hymn, the minstrel says to Indra: "If I were the lord of cattle, master of such wealth as thou art, Indra, then would I assist the minstrel; I would not leave him in need."[105] But, on the other hand, it is emphatically stated that Indra rejects the wicked, as a man spurns a toadstool with his foot;[106] that no evil is concealed from Mitra and Varuna. It is left to Indra to give to the sacrificer whatever he considers best and most valuable; he is entreated to instruct the sacrificer, to give him wisdom, as a father to his child. [107] Stress is laid on the fact that sacrifice can remove a multitude of sins, and purify him who offers it, and we saw how earnestly Varuna was invoked to forgive the guilt that had been incurred.
- 61. The naïve conception that the god drank vigour and courage out of the sacrificial bowl is developed among the Aryas in a very peculiar manner. From this fact they derived the idea that the sacrifice gave power to the gods generally to increase their strength; that the gods "grew" by prayer and sacrifice. Thus we read: "The suppliants, extolling Indra by their songs of praise, have strengthened him, to slay Ahi. Increase, O hero Indra, in thy body, praised with piety, and impelled by our prayers. The hymns whet thy great strength, thy courage, thy power, thy glorious thunder-club."[108] As it is men who offer sacrifice to the gods, this conception gives mankind a certain power over the deities; it lies with them to strengthen the gods by sacrifice and gifts; they can compel the gods to be helpful to them, if only they understand how to invoke them rightly. The holy words, i. e. the invocations, are, in the conception of the Veda, "a voyage which leads to heaven." Hence those who are acquainted with the correct mode of prayer and offering become magicians, who are in a position to exercise force over the gods. The idea that man has power to compel the gods is very naïve, childlike, and childish; in its most elementary form it lies at the root of fetishism. In other nations also great weight is laid on the correct mode of offering sacrifices, as the essential condition of winning the grace of the gods; but the conception that a hearing must attend a sacrifice and prayer correctly made is far more strongly present in the Indians, than in any other civilised people. Yet the hymns of the Veda are far above fetishism, which attempts to exercise direct external compulsion upon the gods. The Indian faith is rather that this effect is obtained not merely by the custom of sacrifice, but by the intensity of invocation, by the power of meditation, by elevation of spirit, by the passionate force of prayer, which will not leave the god till he has given his blessing. It is inward, not outward compulsion that they would exercise. Developed in a peculiar direction, this mode of conception is of deep and decisive importance for the religious and civic views of the Indians. The power ascribed to the sacrificial prayers of bringing down the gods from heaven; the eager desire of every man to invite the gods
- 62. effectually to his own sacrifice, in order that he may scorn the sacrifice of his enemy; the notion that it was possible by the correct and pleasing invocation to disturb the sacrifice of the enemy and make it inoperative, had their natural effect. The singers of these prayers, who knew the strongest forms of invocation, or could "weave" them—the priests—early obtained a position of importance. It has been already remarked what rich presents they boast to have received from the princes. The minstrel Kakshivat tells us that king Svanaya had presented him with one hundred bars of gold, ten chariots with four horses each, a hundred bulls and a thousand cows.[109] Other songs advise the princes to place before them a pious suppliant at the sacrifice, and to reward him liberally. These suppliants or priests were called purohita, i. e. "men placed before." "He dwells happily in his house," we are told; "to him the earth brings fruit at all times; to that king all families willingly give way, who is preceded by the suppliant; that king is protected by the gods, who liberally rewards the suppliant who seeks food."[110] The invocations which have drawn down the gods and have obtained an answer to the prayer of the sacrificer, are repeatedly used, and handed down by the minstrel to his descendants. This explains the fact that even in the Veda we find these families of minstrels; that some of the hymns are said to spring from the ancestors of these races, while others are mentioned as the new compositions of members of these families; that the supposed ancestors are considered the first and oldest minstrels and suppliants, and have already become mythical and half-divine forms, of whom some kindled the first sacrificial fire, and offered the first sacrifice with Manu, the progenitor of the Aryas. The hymns of the Veda make frequent mention of the dead. They are invited to the sacrificial meal; they are said to sit at the fire; to eat and drink the gifts set before them on the grass. Those who have attained "life," are entreated to protect the invocations of their descendants, to ward off the evil spirits, to give wealth to their descendants. We know from a later period that daily libations were
- 63. offered "to the fathers," and special gifts were given at the new moon; that a banquet of the dead was kept. In Iran also similar honours were given to the spirits of the dead. Yama, who first experienced death, who ascended from the depths of the earth to the summit of heaven, has discovered the path for mortals (p. 31). He dwells with Varuna in the third heaven, the heaven of light. To him, in this heaven of light, come the heroes who are slain in battle, the pious who are distinguished by sacrifices and knowledge, who have trodden the path of virtue, who have observed justice and have been liberal, i. e. all those who have lived a holy and pure life, and have thus purified their own bodies. In this body of light they walk in the heaven of Yama. According to the Mahabharata, the heroes and saints of ancient days shine in heaven in a light of their own (chapter viii.). In the heaven of Yama is milk, butter, honey, and soma, the drink of the gods, in large vats.[111] Here the weak no longer pay tribute to the strong;[112] here those whom death has separated are again united; here they live with Yama in feasting and rejoicing. The souls of the wicked, on the other hand, fall into darkness.[113] According to an old commentary on the Rigveda, the heaven of Yama is in the South-east, one thousand days journey on horse from the earth.[114] The Aryas buried their dead, a custom which was also observed in old time among the Arians of Iran. A form of words, to be spoken at the burial, which is preserved among the more recent hymns of the Veda, shows that even at this period burial was practised. The bow was taken from the hand of the dead; a sacrifice was offered, in which the widow of the dead and the wives of the family took part, and during the ceremony a stone was set up as a symbol between the dead and the living. "Get thee gone, death, on thy way,"—such is this form of words—"which lies apart from the way of the gods. Thou seest, thou canst hear what I say to thee; injure not the children nor the men. I set this wall of separation (the stone) for those that live, that no one may hasten to that goal; they must cover death with this rock, and live a hundred autumns. He comes to
- 64. a length of years, free from the weakness of age. The women here, who are wives not widows, glad in their husbands, advance with sacrificial fat and butter, and without tears; cheerful, and beautifully adorned, they climb the steps of the altar. Exalt thyself, O woman, to the world of life. The breath of him, by whom thou art sitting, is gone; the marriage with him who once took thy hand, and desired thee, is completed. I take the bow out of the hand of the dead—the symbol of honour, of courage, of lordship. We here and thou there, we would with force and vigour drive back every enemy and every onset. Approach to mother earth; she opens to receive thee kindly; may she protect thee henceforth from destruction. Open, O earth; be not too narrow for him; cover him like the mother who folds her son in her garment. Henceforth thou hast thy house and thy prosperity here; may Yama procure thee an abode there."[115] The Arians in Iran gave up the burial of their corpses, and exposed them on the mountains; the Arians on the Indus burnt them. For some time burial and cremation went on side by side in the valley of the Indus. "May the fathers," we are told in an invocation, "have joy in our offering whether they have undergone cremation or not."[116] In other prayers Agni is entreated to do no harm to the dead, to make the body ripe, to carry the "unborn" part into heaven where the righteous keep festival with the gods; where Yama says: "I will give this home to the man who comes hither if he is mine."[117] "Warm, O Agni," so we are told in one of these prayers, "warm with thy glance and thy glow the immortal part of him; bear it gently away to the world of the righteous. Let him rejoin the fathers, for he drew near to thee with the libation of sacrifice. May the Maruts carry thee upwards and bedew thee with rain. May the wise Pushan (p. 47) lead thee hence, the shepherd of the world, who never lost one of his flock. Pushan alone knows all those spaces; he will lead us on a secure path. He will carefully go before as a lamp, a complete hero, a giver of rich blessing. Enter, therefore, on the old path on which our fathers have gone. Thou shalt see Varuna and Yama, the two kings, the drinkers of libations. Go to the fathers; there abide
- 65. with Yama in the highest heaven, even as thou well deservest. On the right path escape the two hounds—the brood of Sarama—of the four eyes. Then proceed onward to the wise fathers who take delight in happy union with Yama. Thou wilt find a home among the fathers; prosper among the people of Yama. Surround him, Yama, with thy protection against the hounds who watch for thee, the guardians of thy path, and give him health and painless life. With wide nostrils, eager for men, with blood-brown hair, Yama's two messengers go round among men. O that they may again grant us the pleasant breath of life to-day, and that we may see the sun!"[118] In other invocations of the Rigveda the object of the prayer is "to reach to the imperishable, unchangeable world, where is eternal light and splendour; to become immortal, where king Vaivasvata (Yama) dwells, where is the sanctuary of heaven, where the great waters flow, where is ambrosia (amrita) and peacefulness, joy and delight, where wishes and desires are fulfilled."[119]
- 66. FOOTNOTES: [49] Max Müller, "Hist. of Sanskrit Liter." p. 481 ff. Kaegi, "Rigveda," 1, 9 ff. [50] Roth, "Literatur des Veda," s. 120. [51] In the later hymns of the Rigveda, Angiras and Bhrigu are combined with other sages and minstrels of old time into a septad of saints (10, 109, 4), and designated the great saints. They are, beside Bhrigu and Angiras, Viçvamitra, Vasishtha, Kaçyapa, Atri, Agastya. The eight saints from whom the eight tribes of the Brahman priests now in existence are derived are: Jamadagni, Gautama, Bharadvaja, Viçvamitra, Vasishtha, Kaçyapa, Atri, Agastya. Jamadagni is said to have sprung from Bhrigu; Gautama and Bharadvaja from Angiras. [52] Muir, "Sanskrit texts," 3, 117 ff.; 121 ff. [53] A. Weber, "Ind. Studien," 1. 88. [54] Muir, "Sanskrit texts," 12, 160 ff. [55] Kuhn in Weber, "Ind. Stud." 1. 202. The Çatapatha- Brahmana (Weber, "Ind. Stud." 1. 161) tells us that Manu, when washing his hands in the morning, took a fish in his hands, which said to him—"Spare me, and I will save thee; a flood will wash away all creatures." The fish grew to a monstrous size, and Manu brought him to the ocean; and it bid Manu build a ship, and embark on the ocean. When the flood rose, the fish swam beside the ship, and Manu attached it by a rope to the horn of the fish. Thus the ship passed over the northern mountains. And the fish told Manu that he had saved him, and bade him fasten the ship to a tree. So Manu went up as the waters sank from the northern hills. The flood carried away all creatures; Manu alone remained. Eager for posterity, Manu offered sacrifice, and threw clarified butter, curdled milk, and whey into the water. After a year a woman rose out of the water, with clarified butter under her feet. Mitra and Varuna asked her whether she was their daughter, but she replied that she was the daughter of Manu, who had begotten her, and she went to Manu and told him that he had begotten her by the sacrifice which he had thrown into the water. He was to conduct her to the sacrifice, and he would then receive
- 67. posterity and herds. And Manu did so, and lived with her with sacrifice and strict meditation, and through her began the posterity of Manu. Cf. M. Müller, "Hist. of Sanskrit Liter." p. 425 ff. The later form of the Indian legend of the flood is found in an episode of the Maha-bharata. Here the fish appears to Manu when he is performing some expiatory rites on the shore of a river. The fish grew so mighty that Manu was compelled to bring it into the Ganges, and when it became too large for this into the ocean. When swimming in the ocean the fish announced the flood, and bade Manu and the seven saints (Rishis) ascend the ship, and take with them all kinds of seeds. Then the fish drew the ship attached to his horn through the ocean, and there was no more land to be seen; for several years all was water and sky. At last the fish drew the ship to the highest part of the Himavat, and with a smile bade the rishis bind the ship to this, which to this day bears the name of Naubandhana (ship-binding). Then the fish revealed himself to the seven saints as Brahman, and commanded Manu to create all living creatures, gods, Asuras, and men, and all things movable and immovable; which command Manu performed. The legend overlooks the fact that the new creation was unnecessary, as we have already been told that Manu brought seeds of everything on board ship. The poems of the Rigveda present no trace of the legend of the flood. It may have arisen in the land of the Ganges, from the experience of the floods there, unless it is simply borrowed from external sources. In any case it is of later date; the Çatapatha-Brahmana is one of the later Brahmanas. Weber, "Ind. Stud." 9, 423; Kuhn, "Beiträge," 4, 288. I cannot follow De Gubernatis, "Letture," p. 228, ff, seqq. [56] Kaegi, "Rigveda," 2, 58. [57] On the Bhrigus see A. Weber, "Z. D. M. G." 9, 240. Kuhn, "Herabkunft," s. 21 ff. [58] On the Sarayu, which is mentioned, "Rigveda," 4, 30, 14, and 10, 64, 9, cf. Lassen, loc. cit. 12, 644. [59] "Rigveda," 1, 126, 1; 8, 21, 18. [60] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 451, 456. [61] "Rigveda," 7, 18, 2; in Muir, loc. cit. 5, 455. [62] "Rigveda," 1, 28, 5; 6, 47, 29.
- 68. [63] "Rigveda." 6, 75, in Muir, loc. cit. 5, 469, 471. [64] Roth, "Das lied des Arztes," "Rigveda," 10, 97. "Z. D. M. G." 1871, 645. [65] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 457, 461, 465. [66] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 463. [67] "Rigveda," 10, 21, 5. Above, p. 29. [68] "Rigveda," 1, 94, 7; 1, 140, 1. [69] "Samaveda," by Benfey, 2, 7, 2, 1. [70] "Samaveda," by Benfey, 1, 1, 2, 2; 1, 1, 1, 9. [71] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 212 ff. [72] Kuhn, "Herabkunft des Feuers," s. 23 ff., 36 ff., 70 ff. [73] Kaegi, "Rigveda," 1, 23. [74] The triple birth is explained differently in the poems of the Rigveda and in the Brahmanas. [75] "Rigveda," 1, 36; cf. 1, 27, 58, 76. [76] Divo napata: "Rigveda," 1, 182, 1, 4. [77] "Rigveda," 1, 112, 116, 117, 118, 119, according to Roth's rendering; cf. Benfey's translation, "Orient," 3, 147 ff. [78] "Rigveda," 1, 92; 1, 30; 4, 52; 10, 39, 12. [79] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 193 ff. [80] "Rigveda," 1, 49; 1, 92; 1, 2, 5; 1, 113, 19 in Benfey's rendering, "Orient," 1, 404; 2, 257; 3, 155. The three skilful Ribhus, who are frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, are assistants of the spirits of light. They assist the gods to liberate the cows, which the spirits of the night have fastened in the rock- stable, i. e. the bright clouds. [81] The spirits of light are called sons of Aditi, i. e. of the Eternal, Unlimited, Infinite; seven or eight sons are ascribed to her; Hillebrandt, "Die Göttin Aditi." Originally Aditi meant, in mythology, merely the non-ending, the imperishable, in opposition to the perishable world, and the gods are called the
- 69. sons of immortality because they cannot die. Darmesteter, "Haurvatat," p. 83. [82] "Rigveda," 1, 50, according to Sonne's translation in Kuhn, "Z. V. Spr." 12, 267 ff.; cf. Benfey's rendering, "Orient," 1, 405. [83] "Rigveda," 1, 35, according to Roth's translation; cf. Benfey, "Orient," 1, 53. [84] "Rigveda," 2, 38, according to Roth's translation, "Z. D. M. G." 1870, 306 ff. [85] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 171 ff. Kaegi, "Rigveda," 2, 43. [86] Kuhn, "Herabkunft des Feuers," s. 66. [87] "Rigveda," 1, 51, 5; 2, 12, 12. [88] "Rigveda," 1, 32, according to Roth's translation; cf. Benfey, "Orient," 1, 46. [89] "Rigveda," 1, 11; 1, 121. [90] Indra is derived by Benfey from syand, "to flow," "to drop," in which case we shall have to refer it to the rain-bringing power of the god. Others have proposed a derivation from idh, indh, "to kindle;" others from indra, "blue." In any case, Andra, the corresponding name in the Rigveda, must not be left out of consideration. [91] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 144. [92] Roth, "Zwei Lieder des Rigveda, Z. D. M. G.," 1870, 301 ff. Muir, loc. cit. 5, 147 ff. [93] "Rigveda," 4, 30; "Samaveda," Benfey, 1, 3, 2, 1. 1, 4, 1, 1. [94] "Samaveda," Benfey, loc. cit. [95] "Rigveda," 3, 59, in Muir, loc. cit. 5, 69. [96] "Rigveda," 1, 115, 1 in Benfey; "Orient," 3, 157; "Rigveda," 6, 51, 2; 7, 61, 1; 7, 63, 4; in Muir, loc. cit. 5, 157. [97] "Atharvaveda," 4, 16, according to M. Müller's translation "Essays," 1, 40, 41. Cf. Roth, "Atharvaveda," 8. 19. [98] "Rigveda," 7, 86, 89, according to Müller's rendering, "Essays," 1, 38, 39; cf. Muir's translation, loc. cit. 5, 63 ff. [who
- 70. reads "like an inflated skin" for "like a cloud," etc.] [99] Windischmann, "Abh. der Münch. Akademie," 1847, s. 129. [100] "Samaveda," 1, 6, 2, 2; "Rigveda," 1, 2, 2; 1, 5, 5, and elsewhere. [101] "Samaveda," Benfey, 1, 4, 1, 1; 5, 2, 4, 1, 15, and elsewhere. [102] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 98, ff. [103] "Samaveda," Benfey, 1, 3, 2, 4. [104] "Samaveda," 2, 8, 2, 6. [105] "Samaveda," 1, 4, 1, 2; 2, 9, 2, 9. [106] "Samaveda," 1, 6, 2, 1. [107] "Rigveda," 1, 32; "Samaveda," 1, 3, 2, 4. [108] "Rigveda," 5, 31, 10; 1, 63, 2; 2, 20, 8; 1, 54, 8. [109] "Rigveda," 1, 126, 2, 3. [110] "Rigveda," 4, 50, 8, 9. Roth, "Z. D. M. G.," 1, 77. Lassen, loc. cit. 12, 951. [111] M. Müller, "Z. D. M. G.," 9, 16. These bright bodies of the fathers led to the idea that the souls of the fathers had adorned the heaven with stars, and that they were these stars. "Rigveda," 10, 68, 11. [112] "Atharvaveda," 3, 29, 3; in Muir, loc. cit. 5, 310. [113] Muir, loc. cit. 5, 308, 309, 311. In the later portion of the Rigveda, 10, 15, the old conception of the fathers is already changed. Three classes of fathers are distinguished, and burning and non-burning are mentioned side by side. [114] "Aitareya-Brahmana," 2, 17; in Muir, loc. cit. 5, 322. [115] "Rigveda," 10, 18; according to Roth's rendering, "Z. D. M. G.," 8, 468 ff. [116] "Rigveda," 10, 15, 14; in Muir, loc. cit. 5, 297. [117] "Atharvaveda," 18, 2, 37; in Muir, loc. cit. 5, 294.
- 71. [118] M. Müller, "Die Todtenbestattung der Brahmanen," s. 14 ff. [119] "Rigveda," 9, 113, 7 ff.
- 72. CHAPTER III. THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND OF THE GANGES. The life of the Aryas in the Panjab was manly and warlike. From the songs of the Rigveda we saw how familiar they were with the bow and the chariot, how frequent were the feuds between the princes, and the prayers offered to the gods for victory. Such a life could, no doubt, increase the pleasure in martial achievements, and lead to further enterprises, even if the plains and pastures of the Panjab had not been too narrow for the inhabitants. We remember the prayer in which the war-god was invoked to grant the Arian tribes room against the black-skins (p. 8). As a fact the Aryas extended their settlements to the East beyond the Sarasvati; and as on the lower Indus the broad deserts checked any progress towards the region of the Yamuna and the Ganges, the advance from the Sarasvati to the Yamuna must have taken place in the North along the spurs of the Himalayas. From the hymns of the Rigveda we can ascertain that the Arian tribes pressed on each other, and that the tribes settled in the East were pushed forward in that direction by tribes in the West. Ten tribes of the Panjab, who appear to have occupied the region of the Iravati,[120]—the Bharatas, Matsyas, Anus, and Druhyus, are specially mentioned among them—united for a campaign against king Sudas, the son of Divodasa, the descendant of Pijavana, who ruled over the Tritsus on the Sarasvati. On the side of the united tribes was the priest Viçvamitra of the race of the Kuçikas; on the side of the Tritsus the family of Vasishtha.[121] The Bharatas, Matsyas, Anus, and Druhyus, must have crossed the Vipaça and the Çatadru in order to attack the Tritsus. The Rigveda mentions a prayer addressed by Viçvamitra to these two streams. "Forth from
- 73. the slopes of the mountains; full of desire, like horses loosed in the course, like bright-coloured cows to their calves, Vipaça and Çatadru hasten with their waves. Impelled by Indra, seeking an outlet to the sea, ye roll onward like warriors in chariots of war: in united course with swelling waves ye roll into each other, ye clear ones. Listen joyfully to my pleasant speech, for a moment. O abounding in waters, halt on your steps to the sea. With strong earnestness, crying for help, I entreat you, I, the son of Kuçika. Listen to the minstrel, ye sisters; he has come from far with horse and chariot. Incline yourselves, that ye may be crossed; your waves, ye streams, must not reach the axles. When the Bharatas have crossed you, the mounted host, goaded by Indra, then run on in your renewed course." After the two rivers were crossed a battle took place. Viçvamitra uttered the prayer for the Bharatas: "Indra, approach us with manifold choice help; great hero, be friendly. May he who hates us fall at our feet; may he whom we hate, be deserted by the breath of life. As the tree falls beneath the axe, as a man breaks asunder a husk, as a boiling kettle throws off the foam, so deal thou, O Indra, with them. These sons of Bharata, O Indra, know the battle. They spur their horses; they carry the strong bow like an eternal enemy, looking round in the battle."[122] In spite of the prayer of Viçvamitra the Bharatas and their confederates were defeated; Sudas was even able to invade their land, to capture and plunder several places. The song of victory of the Tritsus, which a minstrel of Sudas may have composed after their success, runs thus: "Two hundred cows, two chariots with women, allotted as booty to Sudas, I step round with praises, as the priests step round the place of sacrifice. To Sudas Indra gave the flourishing race of his enemies, the vain boasters among men. Even with poor men Indra has done marvellous deeds; by the weak he has struck down the lion-like. With a needle Indra has broken spears; all kinds of good things he has given to Sudas. Ten kings, holding themselves invincible in battle, could not strive against Sudas, Indra, and Varuna; the song of them who brought food- offerings was effectual. Where men meet with raised banner in the
- 74. battle-field, where evil of every kind happens, where all creatures are afraid, there have ye, Indra and Varuna, spoken (words of) courage above us, as we looked upwards. The Tritsus in whose ranks Indra entered went onward like downward streaming water: their enemies, like hucksters when dealing, leave all their goods to Sudas. As Sudas laid low twenty-one enemies in glorious strife, as the sacrificer strews holy grass on the place of sacrifice, so did Indra the hero pour out the winds. Sixty hundred of the mounted Anus and Druhyus perished; sixty and six heroes fell before the righteous Sudas. These are the heroic deeds, all of which Indra has done. Without delay, Indra destroyed all the fortresses of the enemy, and divided the goods of the Anus in battle to the Tritsus. The four horses of Sudas, the coursers worthy of praise, richly adorned, stamping the ground, will bring race against race to glory. Ye strong Maruts, be gracious to him as to his father Divodasa, preserve to him the house of Pijavana, and let the power of the righteous king continue uninjured." In another song of the Rigveda the glory of this victory of king Sudas is especially ascribed to Vasishtha and his sons "in white robes with the knot on the right side" (p. 29). They were seen surrounded in the battle of the ten kings, then Indra heard Vasishtha's song of praise, and the Bharatas were broken like the staffs of the ox-driver. The Vasishthas had brought the mighty Indra from far by their soma-offering, by the power of their prayer; then had Indra given glory to the Tritsus, and their tribes had extended. [123] The extension of the Aryas in the rich plains of the Yamuna and the Ganges must in the first place have followed the course of the former river towards the south, and then reached over the land between the two rivers, until the immigrants arrived further and further to the east on the banks of the Ganges. We have no historical information about the facts of these migrations and conquests, of the occupation of the valleys of the Yamuna, the upper and middle Ganges; we can only ascertain that the valley of the Yamuna, and the doab of the two rivers were first occupied and most thickly colonised. It is not till we come lower down the course
- 75. of the Ganges, that we find a large number of the old population in a position of subjection to the Arian settlers. Lastly, as we learn from the Indian Epos, the Aryas had not merely to contend against the old population at the time of their settlement; nor did they merely press upon one another, while those who came last sought to push forward the early immigrants, as we concluded to be the case from the hymns quoted from the Rigveda; they also engaged in conflicts among themselves for the possession of the best land between the Yamuna and the Ganges. In these struggles the tribes of the immigrants became amalgamated into large communities or nations, and the successful leaders found themselves at the head of important states. The conquest and colonisation of such large regions, the limitation and arrangement of the new states founded in them, could only be accomplished in a long space of time. According to the Epos and the Puranas, i. e. the very late and untrustworthy collections of Indian legends and traditions, it was after a great war among the Aryas in the doab of the Yamuna and Ganges, in which the family of Pandu obtained the crown of the Bharatas on the upper Ganges, that the commotion ceased, and the newly founded states enjoyed a state of peace. In the Rigveda, the Bharatas are to the west of the Vipaça, in the Epos we find them dwelling on the upper Ganges; on the Yamuna are settled the nations of the Matsyas, and the Yadavas; between the upper Yamuna and the Ganges are the Panchalas, i. e. the five tribes; eastward of the Bharatas on the Sarayu, down to the Ganges, are the Koçalas. Still further to the east and north of the Ganges are the Videhas; on the Ganges itself are the Kaçis and the Angas, and to the south of the Ganges the Magadhas. Are we in a position to fix even approximately the period at which the settlement of the Aryas in the valley of the Ganges took place, and the struggles connected with this movement came to an end? The law-book of the Indians tells us that the world has gone through four ages; the age of perfection, Kritayuga; the age of the three fires of sacrifice, i. e. of the complete observance of all sacred duties, Tritayuga; the age of doubt, Dvaparayuga, in which the knowledge
- 76. of divine things became obscured; and lastly the age of sin, the present age of the world, Kaliyuga. Between the end of one period and the beginning of the next there came in each case a period of dimness and twilight. If this period is reckoned in, the first age lasted 4800 divine years, or 1,728,000 human years; the life of men in this age reached 400 years. The second age lasted 3600 divine years, or 1,296,000 human years, and life reached 300 years. The third age lasted 2400 divine years, or 864,000 human years, and men only lived to the age of 200 years. The present age will last 1200 divine years, or 432,000 human years, and men will never live beyond the age of 100 years.[124] This scheme is obviously an invention intended to represent the decline of the better world and the increase of evil, in proportion to the distance from the divine origin. In the matter of numbers the Indians are always inclined to reckon with large figures, and nothing is gained by setting forth the calculations in greater detail. From the Rigveda it is clear that the year of the Indians contained 360 days in twelve months of 30 days. In order to bring this year into accordance with the natural time, a month of thirty days was inserted in each fifth year as a thirteenth month although the actual excess in five years only amounted to 26¼ days. Twelve of these cycles of five years were then united into a period of 60 years, i. e. 12 x 5, and both the smaller and the larger periods were called Yuga.[125] On this analogy the world-periods were formed. By multiplying the age of sin by ten we get the whole duration of the world; the perfect age is four times as long as the age of sin.[126] A year with the gods is as long as a day with men; hence a divine year contains 360 years of men, and the world- period, i. e. the great world-year, is completed in 12 cycles each of 1000 divine years, i. e. 360,000 human years. In the first age, the age of perfection, Yama and Manu walked and lived on earth with their half-divine companions (p. 30); in the age of the three fires of sacrifice, i. e. of the strict fulfilment of sacred duties, lived Pururavas, who kindled the triple sacrificial fire,[127] and the great sacrificers or minstrels, the seven or ten Rishis (p. 29 n. 2); the period of darkness and doubt was the age of the great heroes. With
- 77. the priests who invented this system of ages the period of the great heroes was naturally placed lower than that of the great sacrificers and saints. The historical value attaching to this scheme lies in the fact that the Epos places the great war of the Pandus and Kurus in the period of transition between the age of doubt and the age of evil, in the twilight of the Kaliyuga, and the Puranas in consequence make the beginning of the reign of the first Pandu over the Bharatas after the great war, the accession of Parikshit, coincide with the commencement of the Kaliyuga.[128] Now according to the date of the Puranas the Kaliyuga begins in the year 3102 B.C. On this calculation the great movement towards the east and in the east came to an end about this time. That the Indians once contented themselves with smaller numbers in fixing the ages than those which we find in the book of the law and the Puranas, we may conclude from the statements of the Greek Megasthenes, who drew up his account at the court of Chandragupta (Sandrakottos) of Magadha at the end of the fourth century B.C. This author tells us that in ancient times the Indians were nomads, clothed in the skins of animals, and eating raw flesh, till Dionysus came to them and taught them the tillage of the field, the care of vines, and the worship of the gods. On leaving India he made Spatembas king, who reigned 52 years; after him his son Budyas reigned for 20 years, who was in turn succeeded by his son Kradeuas, and so the sceptre descended from father to son; but if a king died without children the Indians selected the best man to be king. From Dionysus to Sandrakottos the Indians calculated 153 kings, and 6402 years. In this period the line had been broken three times; the second interruption lasted 300 years, the third 120 years. [129] What particular rite among the Indians caused the Greeks to represent Dionysus as visiting India and to make him the founder of Indian civilisation, will become clear further on. Putting this aside, the account of Megasthenes of the triple break in the series of kings shows that the system of the four ages was in vogue among the Indians even at that time. If Megasthenes speaks of a single line of
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