In Lombardy, besides the _mezzadria_, the lease is common, but the _terzieria_ is rare. The lessee, or farmer, tills the soil at his own risk; usually he provides live stock, implements and capital, and has no right to compensation for ordinary improvements, nor for extraordinary improvements effected without the landlord's consent. He is obliged to give a guarantee for the fulfilment of his engagements. In some places he pays an annual tribute in grapes, corn and other produce. In some of the Lombard _mezzadria_ contracts taxes are paid by the cultivator.
In Venetia it is more common than elsewhere in Italy for owners to till their own soil. The prevalent forms of contract are the _mezzadria_ and the lease. In Liguria, also, _mezzadria_ and lease are the chief forms of contract.
In Emilia both _mezzadria_ and lease tenure are widely diffused in the provinces of Ferrara, Reggio and Parma; but other special forms of contract exist, known as the _famiglio da spesa_, _boaria_, _braccianti obbligati_ and _braccianti disobbligati_. In the _famiglio da spesa_ the tiller receives a small wage and a proportion of certain products. The _boaria_ is of two kinds. If the tiller receives as much as 45 lire per month, supplemented by other wages in kind, it is said to be _boaria a salario_; if the principal part of his remuneration is in kind, his contract is called _boaria a spesa_.
In the Marches, Umbria and Tuscany, _mezzadria_ prevails in its purest form. Profits and losses, both in regard to produce and stock, are equally divided. In some places, however, the landlord takes two-thirds of the olives and the whole of the grapes and the mulberry leaves. Leasehold exists in the province of Grosseto alone. In Latium leasehold and farming by landlords prevail, but cases of _mezzadria_ and of "improvement farms" exist. In the _agro Romano_, or zone immediately around Rome, land is as a rule left for pasturage. It needs, therefore, merely supervision by guardians and mounted overseers, or _butteri_, who are housed and receive wages. Large landlords are usually represented by _ministri_, or factors, who direct agricultural operations and manage the estates, but the estate is often let to a middleman, or _mercante di campagna_. Wherever corn is cultivated, leasehold predominates. Much of the work is done by companies of peasants, who come down from the mountainous districts when required, permanent residence not being possible owing to the malaria. Near Velletri and Frosinone "improvement farms" prevail. A piece of uncultivated land is made over to a peasant for from 20 to 29 years. Vines and olives are usually planted, the landlord paying the taxes and receiving one-third of the produce. At the end of the contract the landlord either cultivates his land himself or leases it, repaying to the improver part of the expenditure incurred by him. This repayment sometimes consists of half the estimated value of the standing crops.