Mario Speroni

The article aims at giving a general view of the legal regulation of the lakes of Insubria in the Modern Age (16th-18th centuries). The lakes (Verbano/ Maggiore, Como, Varese, Ceresio, Mezzola) were controlled by the Milanese government under the Spanish and Austrian rules, and later also in part by Switzerland and by the King of Sardinia. The magistracy in charge, fishing rights and fish trade regulations are investigated in the light of documents preserved mainly in the State Archives of Milan and Como, and in the archive of the Borromeo family at Isola Bella.

The article aims at giving a general view of the legal regulation of the lakes of Insubria from antiquity to the end of the Middle Ages. The survey include the definitions of lakes, rivers and other sorts of public waters given by Roman jurists; the Notitia dignitatum is examined. For the early Middle Ages main sources are Capitularia of the Frankish kings and German emperors. In the age of the Communes, the most important issues are the Diet of Roncaglia (1158) and the Peace of Constance (1183), when the Emperor acknowledged the rights of the Lombard Communes on the lakes of the region. Statutes and dispatches provide information on the lakes Verbano, Lario, Ceresio under the Visconti-Sforza rule.