Vernacular earthen architecture. Construction techniques and restoration. From the international setting to some specific Italian regional cases

[EN] The research focuses on vernacular architecture, in particular earth buildings, highlighting the different geographic areas involved, building types and construction techniques. In Italy, despite theoretical progress, some cultural and technical problems are still evident in earth architecture conservation. This is also due to the prevalence, among earth buildings, of vernacular architecture, that, in general, has no artistic value and with historical value yet to be fully appreciated. The characteristics of some regional areas are also considered, with particular attention to the Marche and Sardinia Regions, where earthen constructions have existed since ancient times. Knowledge of construction techniques that are the result of age-old experience is the basis for a good conservation and for the design of new ones. Today, some public administrations, on the regional and local levels, have developed operating manuals for the conservation of earth constructions, but there is still no real legislative protection for earth buildings and their material authenticity.Petrucci, E.; Mancini, R.; Putzu, MG. (2022). Vernacular earthen architecture. Construction techniques and restoration. From the international setting to some specific Italian regional cases. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 897-904. https://doi.org/10.4995/HERITAGE2022.2022.1524989790

Palazzo Falconieri

Dopo una breve sintesi dei principali eventi storici riguardanti Palazzo Falconieri a Roma, viene proposta una ipotesi di progetto sulla coloritura del prospetto su via Giulia

I fori Imperiali a Roma. Problematiche di degrado e un’ipotesi di progetto

Dopo una breve sintesi storica di inquadramento generale, si è cercato di mettere l’accento sugli eventi più importanti della storia romana che hanno portato dapprima alla creazione e poi alla trasformazione dell’intera area dei fori Imperiali e, in particolare del Foro di Cesare. Oltre alla sistematizzazione delle conoscenze acquisite allo stato attuale degli studi, base fondamentale e imprescindibile del lavoro è stata la lettura diretta e l’elaborazione grafica di rilievi e la sintesi critica delle diverse e complesse fasi costruttive della vita del foro. Infine, dopo aver analizzato le cause di degrado e valutato lo stato di conservazione, sono state definite alcune proposte tecniche e operative per il restauro di materiali, palinsesti murari e ambienti storici sino ad affrontare le più puntuali analisi delle problematiche di fruizione e valorizzazione. Il progetto nasce da una ponderata riflessione su alcune tematiche che possiamo definire “scottanti” nell’ambito delle teorie della musealizzazione delle aree archeologiche, e dal contemperamento di posizioni che in alcuni casi hanno assunto posizioni opposte, quali quella dell’evocazione e della reintegrazione dell’immagine anche parziale a scopi didattici ed esplicativi o, al contrario, la posizione espressa da chi sostiene la necessità di proteggere i siti archeologici, senza tuttavia aggiungere alcun segno che possa in qualche modo assurgere al ruolo d’interpretazione della preesistenza, che in quanto tale risulterebbe sempre illegittima. È stata inoltre data debita importanza alla problematica relativa alla rimozione delle aggiunte e/o delle stratificazioni seriori al livello imperiale, nonché ai percorsi, ai nodi di accesso, ai bordi di delimitazione dell’area archeologica e, non ultimo, alle coperture

Tutela, riuso e valorizzazione delle cave storiche abbandonate. Tra storia della costruzione, decostruzione e ricostruzione del paesaggio

Attraverso l’attività estrattiva in cave e miniere l’uomo ha impresso segni profondi, come ampie cicatrici in un territorio ferito. Il problema del recupero di tali siti è stato affrontato già a partire dalla seconda metà del secolo scorso, ma solo oggi le diffuse e sentite esigenze ambientaliste hanno spinto diverse regioni italiane ad agire in maniera più concreta dotandosi di adeguate politiche territoriali in merito. La conoscenza e la salvaguardia delle cave storiche utilizzate fin dall’antichità o nel passato più recente riveste una notevole importanza sia dal punto di vista prettamente teorico e conoscitivo e sia dal punto di vista pratico ed applicativo per mettere in atto i processi d’intervento volti alla salvaguardia oltre che delle cave stesse dell’intero contesto paesaggistico di cui sono parte. Lo studio, dopo un inquadramento storico e normativo in materia di recupero delle cave e delle miniere in ambito nazionale ed europeo e dopo aver evidenziato le metodologie di analisi necessarie e preliminari ad un corretta lettura del territorio, intende presentare alcuni esempi progettuali (tra le destinazioni d’uso più adottate: agricola; forestale; naturalistica; ricreativa; per scopi didattici o sociali; installazione di opere d’arte contemporanea e land art; insediativa, produttiva o infrastrutturale) che possono considerarsi virtuosi nell’ottica della tutela, del reimpiego e della valorizzazione, tenendo presente le forti implicazioni storiche (landscape archaeology), paesaggistico-ambientali e socioeconomiche che devono necessariamente essere poste alla base della scelta sulle destinazioni d’uso finali.Man’s quarrying and mining activities have left unsightly and profound scars on a damaged landscape. Although the problem of how to reclaim these sites was tackled in the late twentieth century, it is only recently that widespread and heartfelt environmental needs have pressurised various Italian regions into taking more concrete action through the adoption of appropriate territorial policies. Learning about and conserving historical quarries that have been in use since ancient times or even in the more recent past is not just important from a theoretical and cognitive point of view. More practical aspects are also involved, necessary to set in motion the intervention processes aimed at conserving both the quarries themselves and indeed the entire landscape context of which they are part. After a review of the historical and regulatory framework of quarry and mine reclamation at a national and European level, followed by a description of the preliminary analytical methods essential for a correct reading of the territory, the study will discuss a number of exemplary reclamation projects in terms of conservation, reuse and valorisation, keeping in mind the significant historical (landscape archeology), environmental, landscaping and socio-economic implications on which the choice of end-use must necessarily be based. Some of these projects’ most common objectives for end-use range from agricultural, woodlands, naturalistic, recreational, educational or social purposes, to the installation of contemporary art works and land art, to settlement, production or infrastructures

Torri e mulini a vento sul Monte Argentario. Affinità tipologiche e esigenze funzionali

A series of watchtowers were built along the Tuscan coast during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance as an early defense system against pirate attacks. The period between the mid-fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries saw the development of the port in the Portercolese area and the beginning of intense economic and commercial activity. The existing mills underwent significant restoration and many new ones were erected. Moreover, following the establishment of the State of the Presìdi, King Philip II of Spain had a series of towers and fortresses constructed to defend the coast of the new state. In 1558 the Rocca of Porto Ercole was restored and Forte Filippo was built. It is most likely that while work was being carried out on these two fortifications, the existing infrastructures, including the mills and the port, also underwent some kind of reconstruction. Circular shaped towers with or without a base are architectural forms that are found and used for both fortification and milling. The first round towers with a circular floor plan were probably built on the Tuscan coast by the Pisans in the Middle Ages. This form was then widely used, especially between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, during the expansion of Spanish rule in the Mediterranean. Apart from a few details that differentiate each tower, several main features generally remain constant over time and in the different geographical areas affected by the phenomenon. Windmills were very popular in Northern Europe and in the Iberian Peninsula, while they were little used in Italy. The first document attesting the presence of windmills in Tuscany dates back to the first half of the thirteenth century. Our study starts with a historical and territorial classification of the phenomena concerning the construction of defense and milling structures with particular attention to the Tuscan region. Its aim is then to retrace the main construction phases of the specific, interesting and emblematic case of the polyfunctional adaptation of a tower structure, namely the so-called Torre del Mulinaccio on Monte Argentario. In fact, this particular structure was not only used as mill, but also served as an outpost for defense and as a sighting tower, pertaining to the fortified structures erected behind it on the summit of Monte Filippo, which dominate the hamlet of Porto Ercole and the entire bay of the old port from the north-east. In fact, the case in question allows us to examine the formation, development and adaptation of two building types destined for an essentially different use, but whose morphological and constructive features and function - with the exception of a few, peculiar technical expedients - are similar and interchangeable