PPTR Puglia - Regional Landscape Territorial Plan.

PPTR Puglia - Piano Paesaggistico Territoriale Regionale

Guidelines for the Protection, Restoration, and Interventions on Dry Stone Structures in Puglia

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Dry Stone Construction as a Fundamental Component of the Puglian Landscape

The Puglian landscape is the result of a series of human interventions over time, including the clearing of land, the introduction of new agricultural practices, and the construction of buildings and structures used for farming activities, often made of dry stone.

A reflection on the current state of the architectural heritage reveals two contrasting but somewhat complementary attitudes: on the one hand, there is abandonment by those involved in primary activities due to the progressive obsolescence of these structures and their inadequacy for modern living standards; on the other hand, there is growing interest from new users attracted by the architectural and environmental quality and the relatively low cost of purchase. This pattern also applies to dry stone constructions.

Prospective buyers, in addition to using these structures for short stays, are often driven by other, less easily defined values, such as the desire to create unusual forms of escapism and nostalgic returns to nature.

The current supply-demand system for dry stone constructions, oscillating between abandonment and decay on the one hand, and sometimes inappropriate interventions and reuse on the other, forces us to consider the need for appropriate restoration as an inevitable step in their preservation. This is perhaps the last, if not the only, opportunity available today to save a cultural asset in danger, one that is so widespread and crucial to many Puglian landscapes that it has become an emblem of Puglia itself.

Given this, the Region recognizes that:

- Dry stone constructions constitute an inalienable heritage of material culture and testimonial values, visibly representing the memory of the community, particularly that of the peasant masses who, in past centuries, were directly involved in bringing new lands under cultivation;

- The extent of the area where dry stone structures are found is one of the largest in Europe, with areas of very high density and variety of types, among which those intended for permanent habitation stand out for their exceptional nature;

- Over time, dry stone construction has become one of the fundamental components of the Puglian landscape, which many scholars have not hesitated to describe as “entirely human-made”;

- Although currently one of the draws of regional tourism, this heritage is often in a state of obsolescence and decay due to abandonment, or in other cases, severely compromised due to inappropriate restoration and usage, resulting in damage to the landscape.

Therefore, these Guidelines aim to:

- Promote a general policy of coordination for knowledge and enhancement actions;

- Lay the groundwork for proper maintenance and conservative restoration, based on the principle that it is impossible to work on individual structures without a thorough critical understanding of their internal structure;

- Encourage the recovery of these structures for uses compatible with the existing context, with the aim of preserving both the material object and the surrounding rural environment; this includes the reuse of structures with a condition of “minimum habitability” for permanent or temporary residence, including those connected to various forms of tourism.

- Regulate and, as far as possible, preserve the surrounding areas of these structures, to ensure the correct relationship between the dry stone construction and its surroundings.