Avv. Francesco Tedioli
University of Mantova
Abstract Title: The “Livello” in Italian Property Law: An Uncodified Institution between Real Rights and Emphyteusis – Practical Issues and Possible Solutions
Biography: Francesco Tedioli is an Italian lawyer and adjunct professor of commercial law at the University of Mantua (Italy). He has published extensively on land law, agricultural policy, and agrivoltaics, with a particular focus on comparative and European Union approaches. He serves on the editorial boards of “Consulenza Agricola” and “Legal Research & Analysis”, and acts as a reviewer for the “International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences”. He regularly collaborates with leading academic journals and international research projects in the field of sustainable rural development, and is actively involved in the dissemination of legal innovation concerning agri-energy and land management.
Research Interest: This brief essay examines an institution peculiar to Italian law—virtually unknown even among legal practitioners—precisely because it lacks both a statutory definition and codified regulation: the “livello”. In the Italian legal system, this term designates a range of legal constructs, including a real right of enjoyment, a real burden encumbering land, and, more generally, a set of agrarian law relationships characterized by the grant of enjoyment of land by a large landowner (concedente) to a beneficiary (utilista), who undertakes to cultivate, improve, and pay a fee (also referred to as “livello”) (Pera, 2005). It frequently occurs that, upon examining cadastral certificates, mortgage searches, or old title deeds in Italy, the existence of so-called “oneri livellari” (“livello burdens”) emerges with respect to a parcel of land, arising from contractual relationships both unknown and remote in time, whose respective obligations have likewise not been performed for a considerable period. This scenario gives rise to several issues under Italian law: (a) who is the true owner of the land—the grantor or the livellario (the person holding rights under a livello); (b) whether the livello may be cancelled; (c) what security may be afforded to the acquisition of a parcel of land (and, not infrequently, also a dwelling constructed thereon), where the transferor is the same livellario or assignee, who, in practice, regards and presents himself to the prospective purchaser as the full owner. 8. Selected Bibliography Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles 1. Advanced agrivoltaics in Italy: innovation, sustainability, and regulation for the future of rural energy, Visegrad Journal on Bioeconomy and Sustainable Development, 25 July 2025 14- 1/2025. 2. The Farm Register in Italy: Legal Framework, Functions, and a Comparative Analysis of European Models, Eu Agrarian Law, 2 July 2025, doi: 10.2478/eual-2025-0002 3. Network Contracts in Italian Agriculture: Legal Insights, Operational Strategies, and European Perspectives, Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Law, 28 June 2025, doi: 10.21029/JAEL.2025.38.417 4. Parmigiano Reggiano PDO: Approved Amendments to the Product Specification Concerning the Origin of Animals, European Food and Feed Law Review, 5 June 2025. 5. Exploring Italian Agritourism: A Model of Sustainable Rural Development, Journal of Agribusiness and Rural Development, 17 March 2025, doi: 10.17306/j.jard.2025.00017r1 6. Italy Introduces Consumer Class Actions, SSRN, 27 July 2009, doi: 10.2139/ssrn.1392814 7. The Regulation of Italian Arbitration after the Cartabia Reform, International Arbitration Law Review, 30 August 2024. 8. Floating Photovoltaic Systems in Italy: Challenges and Future Prospects in an Uncertain Regulatory Framework, EU Agrarian Law, 16 December 2024, doi: 10.2478/eual-2024-0006 9. The Disputes Regarding Agricultural Lease Contracts in the Italian System of Authorisations for Viticulture Plantations, Open Wine Law, 4 January 2025, doi: 10.20870/owl.2025.8375 Monograph 1. Wine Legislation in Italy (editor and author), Other Publications 1. Author of more than 130 articles in Italian on agricultural law, procedural law, and EU law, published in leading legal journals and professional reviews.