Connections between masserie and historical roads system in Apulia

Abstract

A precise category of Apulian farmsteads, known as masserie, is a significant example of rural buildings featuring relevant architectural and landscape characteristics. Their territorial distribution is diversified and often depend on the close relationship between the building and its adjacent agricultural lot. Moreover, owing to their specific role in overseeing the territory and asserting land tenure rights, Apulian masserie distribution may have genetic origins influenced by other elements, too. The aim of this work is to investigate the existing relationships between masserie and historic roads crossing the Apulia region (Roman roads and sheep's paths called tratturi), considering both their mutual distance and the individual rural buildings importance. Overlay mapping procedures allow to quantify the amount of masserie falling within the catchment areas of the aforementioned historical roads, while historical and territorial in-depth analysis helped to identify those elements characterising the most interesting masserie from cultural and architectural points of view. The research provided interesting qualitative and quantitative information on the existing relations between these assets, leading to further considerations on the possibility to enhance them through the promotion of their integrated recovery.

Analysis and evaluation of abandoned railways aimed at greenway conversion: A methodological application in the Sicilian landscape using multi-criteria analysis and geographical information system

“…The system margin values (S3) concerns the existence of cultural, commercial, environmental and landscape resources as well as of road links that allow reaching the railway, inside the 1000 m wide buffer per side of each track (Caliandro et al, 2014). It includes the following indicators: panoramic position (S3,1), existence of services (S3,2), existence of cultural and environmental goods (S3,3), existence of transport infrastructures (S3,4), existence of historical railway buildings and structures (S3,5) (Table 1).…”

Identifying areas suitable for wine tourism through the use of multi-criteria and geographic information system: the method and its application in the countryside around Mount Etna (Sicily)

“…The available tourist facilities (n) are very important (weighting 26), especially when those are found in the same vineyards and wineries (n1) (weighting 60). Once again the historic environment, and the influence of the use of traditional agricultural methods in defining this, is of great importance (o1) (weighting 50), as is the presence historic rural settlements (o2) (weighing 50) (Caliandro et al, 2014). Ultimately, the indicators which determine whether an area is most suitable for wine tourism are: the historic environment of the area and the types of agriculture, above all the vineyards; the traditional and typical nature of the types of agriculture practiced; a good infrastructure, the presence of historic rural settlements; the presence of vineyards and wineries which are ready to exploit the possibilities of wine tourism.…”

The Apulian Territory and the Typical Local Farmhouses: A Case of Study Through Landscape Analysis

“…The knowledge of territorial resources is essential for landscape preservation and for its sustainable development. It allows the revaluation of the identity of specific places and creates the prerequisites for the design of a multifunctional reuse in accordance with the European Landscape Convention policies of protection, conservation and enhancement of the environment (Caliandro et al 2014;De Montis 2016).…”

“…The most significant architectural features in the Apulian rural territory are large farmhouses known as masserie, due to their widespread presence and the typological characteristics that give them great potential for recovery and reuse (Ruggiero et al 2019). These farmhouses are the highest expression of the Apulian rural building, typical of the medieval age until the end of the nineteenth century (Caliandro et al 2014). In some Apulian areas, as in the center-oriental part of the Ionian Sea province, the widespread building of agricultural settlements and of masserie was stimulated by the reduction of semi-nomadic sheep breeding which took place along the tratturi, trails used for livestock, sheep and cattle transhumance (Liano et al 2015).…”