The pertica (from Latin: pertica, measuring rod[1]) was a pre-metric unit of either length or area, with the values varying by location. For a similar unit in Northern Europe, see perch.
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Ancient Rome
In the Ancient Rome, pertica, also called decempeda,[2] was a unit of length, usually equal to 10 Roman feet (pedes), or approximately 2.96 meters.[3] The variants of pertica contained 12[4] and 15[5] pedes. Isidore of Seville (per Codex Gudianus) states that sometimes a pertica of 10, 12, 15, or 17 pedes was used by agrimensores (Roman land surveyors) to accommodate the richness of the soil and approximately even the yield per unit area.[6][7] Kidson[8] highlights the near-perfect match between the pertica of 17 pedes and the English version of the perch.
The same names, pertica and decempeda, were used for the surveyor's tool, a rod of the corresponding length with subdivision into smaller units, similar to the Ancient Greek kalamos.[9]
Italy
The linear unit in Italy was about 3 meters, area unit contained about 600 square meters. After switching to the metric system, the unit became equal to 1 decare.[3]
The regional area values significantly varied per province (in square meters):[10]
References
Sources
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