In June 1815, Ferdinand IV of Bourbon returned to Naples and moved to formally establish the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, unifying the Kingdom of Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples. Awaiting him, among other issues, was the unresolved question of the Tavoliere lands. The censuazione hastily introduced by the French rulers had left significant consequences. For the first time, the struggle between livestock breeders and farmers was compounded by conflict between those who had managed to obtain land under censuazione and those who had missed the opportunity. This created a division among breeders, placing them in a weaker position compared to farmers.

Upon returning to Naples, the King pledged to uphold all the administrative acts of the French government, including those concerning censuazione. The locati who had not participated for the various reasons mentioned earlier loudly demanded that censuazione be abolished and that the previous system be restored: being forced to purchase grazing rights from the censuari at high prices made winter migration to Apulia uneconomical. By contrast, the new censuari, whether breeders or farmers, wished to retain their acquired rights. The only point on which both parties agreed was the request that the former privileges granted to the locati — special jurisdiction, discounts on salt, oil, bread and wine, etc. — be reinstated.

In 1816, the Duke della Torre was entrusted with the task of bringing the parties together to seek a mutually acceptable solution. However, the positions remained irreconcilable. During the investigations, the censuari shepherds emphasized that any reform should not impose further financial burdens: the 10% increase in rent, the annual land tax, and the abolition of all privileges — including exemption from the wool tax — had crippled the livestock sector. The farmers adopted a more flexible stance, stating they would accept moderate increases in rent provided they were granted the right of statonica, thereby freeing the land from all constraints.

During negotiations, it became evident that many censuari had in some way violated their obligations: rights of statonica were not always respected, censuazioni had exceeded the 50 carra limit, and lands had been ploughed without authorization. This provided the pretext for a “Solomonic” reform designed to benefit the royal treasury. On 13 January 1817, a law was enacted providing for an agreement between all censuari and the Crown, whereby the latter waived legal action against them for past abuses on condition that they signed new contracts with increased rents and settled all outstanding debts. Crucially, all censuari were involved, even those who had complied with regulations, since they “might have violated them in the future”, and failure to sign the contract entailed the loss of all rights to the censused lands. Moreover, the new contract stipulated the impossibility of redeeming the lands, which would thus remain permanently state property. The measure was therefore essentially aimed at increasing taxation.

Some minor concessions were granted to breeders: the rent increase was lower than that imposed on farmers; they were allowed representation through a Generalità, as had been the case under the fida system, and new lands were identified so that those who had missed the first censuazione would have another opportunity.

This time, however, the blow to the Tavoliere economy was fatal. Excessive taxation crippled the entire system: a livestock epidemic or a ruined harvest was enough to plunge censuari into debt with no possibility of recovery. As a result, after an initial year of exceptional revenue, state income from the Tavoliere began to decline steadily. Agricultural and pastoral products were seized, further aggravating the situation.

Various corrective measures were attempted: deferred debt payments, the creation of a special bank — which immediately fell into debt — to grant low-interest loans, and direct state purchases of products at fixed prices in order to prevent speculation. None of these measures succeeded, and indebtedness continued to grow due to excessive taxation.

Nicola Santangelo was commissioned to conduct an inquiry and propose solutions. The principal causes identified were those mentioned above. It was noted that with the transition to censuazione, taxation had nearly doubled within a few years. Santangelo proposed reducing taxes and implementing a gradual repayment plan for debts. The King instead preferred to devise differentiated solutions based on the degree of indigence of each censuario. Thanks to these measures, from 1824 onward, revenues from the Tavoliere slowly began to increase.

In the final years of the Kingdom, discussions resumed regarding the possibility of redeeming the lands in order to stimulate the economy of Apulia, but debates once again stalled amid conflicting interests.

The final turning point came after the unification of Italy. With the law of 26 February 1865 (no. 2168), the process of general redemption of the lands of the Tavoliere was initiated. The censuari were able to obtain full ownership of the lands they held by paying a capital sum equivalent to twenty-two annual installments, to be paid within a maximum period of fifteen years. Like previous reforms, this measure was designed to ensure a stable increase in fiscal revenue.

The law further established that all real rights encumbering the lands — statonica, vernotica and similar rights — were to be converted into redeemable land rents: these rights thus ceased to exist as real encumbrances on the land and were transformed into monetary obligations, which the new owners could definitively extinguish by paying a redemption capital.

In practical terms, this marked the end of transhumance as it had been practiced until then. Only owners of large flocks who had succeeded in acquiring land ownership were able to continue wintering regularly in Apulia. The number of animals in seasonal movement declined rapidly, also because pastoral activity became progressively less profitable. Within a short time, in the Tavoliere, the area devoted to agriculture surpassed that reserved for pasture.

After the Second World War, the few shepherds who still practiced transhumance relied on motorized transport to move their flocks.

An era had definitively come to an end.