Brothers, sisters and the rearrangements of property on the Sicilian island of Stromboli in the nineteenth century

This article focuses on property relationships among siblings, especially on sales andexchanges of land, houses and other items, on the small Sicilian island of Stromboliin the Aeolian archipelago during the nineteenth century. Stromboli’s economyincorporated farming and seafaring activities. The ‘modular structure’ of houses andwealth was characterised by partible inheritance, with equal inheritance shares orendowments for both sons and daughters, which was permitted under the Civil Code ofthe Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Siblings therefore had the possibility of exchanging,assembling and disposing of shares through sales. For this reason sibling relations had astrong impact on the market for land and houses in Stromboli, and kin structures and themarket operated as complementary rather than separate or antagonistic spheres.