 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
Public domain land is land controlled by a government that either legally belongs to the citizenry and cannot be sold or can be sold. Public domain land is managed by a public entity—such as a state, region, province or municipality—directly or by institutes or state companies. It is called dominio público (Spanish), domínio público (Portuguese), domaine public (French) or demanio pubblico (Italian).
In the United States, land is public domain if it has belonged to the federal government since the 13 original colonies bought fromindigenous tribes or from other countries, and has not been dedicated to a specific use. For most of the nation's early history, thefederal government sought to promote settlement of the expanding frontier by deeding the public domain to states and private interests through the auspices of theUnited States General Land Office. The authority for this came under laws such as theHomestead Act, theTimber and Stone Act, and theMorrill Act.
Creation of the first public domain of the United States, theNorthwest Territory, began anepoch in American political history. The government decided early to create new states from it, to add to the union in full equality to the original 13 states. Its subsequent expansion, the mode of its administration, legislation for its government, its relation to constitutional questions, the diplomacy and politics involved in its acquisition, its international boundary questions, the enactment of settlement laws, the attraction of immigrants and growth of population,internal improvements and increased facilities of transportation, the discovery of precious metals, and other topics of interest might be cited here in connection with the public domain.[1]
During theAmerican Revolutionary War, Congress spent vast sums and the nation was in debt. The government promised soldiers land in lieu of pay. After the Revolution, the new federal government owned all the public land except that within the 13 original colonies and a few non-original states. The land owned by the government was called The Public Domain. TheLand Act of 1785 gave land warrants to the soldiers to fulfill the promise. The Act also allowed the Treasury Department to sell land in auctions to the highest bidders. A new surveying system was created. The first auction was held in D.C., but the land sold was in Ohio. Soldiers could not afford to travel to Ohio to see the land, and then back to D.C. for the auction. Soldiers sold their warrants, often too cheaply. The government sold 640 acres at a time, minimum. Small farmers could not afford the prices. Speculators bought the warrants, purchased land, and sold the land in smaller lots to small farmers, at a huge profit.[citation needed]
Later, the government lowered the minimum acres, and sold land on credit, and offered some free land. The government made more money this way by copying the speculators' method. The government gained other land in time. States were then carved out of the public domain. The government has sold or given away over one billion acres of land. 5 million land patents were granted. TheBureau of Land Management grew from the olderUnited States General Land Office and now controls public domain land.[2]
InItalian law, public domain (demanio) derives fromRoman Law and then took on its modern form duringdefeudalisation. The Italian public domain is governed by theItalian Civil Code, article 822 and following.[3] In Italy,public domain is not the same thing ofpublic estate: if the second one can be sell or rent in any moment, the main characteristic of the assets forming the public domain is their inalienability and imprescriptibility. In particular, all citizens have the right to access and transit to and through the coastline, but they may not erect there any durable construction.
Italian public domain is divided in two categories:necessary domain andincidental domain.The necessary domain includes the whole coastline, roadsteads, ports, rivers, lakes, acquifers, other specific water bodies and all the works necessary for national defence purposes.The accidental domain includes railways, streets, monuments and libraries, but only if they belong to the State.
Local authorities may also own public domain, and in this case we speak aboutregional ormunicipality domain.
Private individuals are allowed to take advantage of Italian public domain only behind specific concessions, which are always time-limited, are awarded through public tenders and involve the payment of a fee.
