Italy is well known听 for its听monuments and architecture: a huge chunk of those visiting the country each year do so to enjoy the unique and amazing cohabitation of styles that is typical of our cities and towns: Medieval, Romanic, Gothic, Baroque, just to mention some, grace the streets and alleys of the whole country.
When talking about Italian homes,听the same principle of style mixing applies. Beside the obvious legal and health and safety regulations, very little rules are applied when it comes to building your own place, unless it is an old building in need to be restored, in which case there are specific artistic and architectural canons to be respected. For all other cases听we Italians, when it comes to building our own place,听enjoy freedom.
But what are our favorite architectural styles and in which kind of homes do we Italians live the most?
Historic and traditional houses in Italy
The corte
Villages or out听of town’s locations are the kingdom of听corti, courtyards, beautiful听squares enclosed听within thick walled houses, usually developing vertically.听Most of them need to be renovated, but they are pictoresque. Life in these courtyards follows the rhythm and style of yore and everyone residing in a 肠辞谤迟别听knows and likes听each other, just like in a family.
Trulli
罢丑别听迟谤耻濒濒颈听we see today in听Alberobello听date听back听to the 19th听century, but there were even older听trulli听that time and nature slowly destroyed almost completely. They have been declared part of the and, as strange as it may seem,听迟谤耻濒濒颈听are still used as homes by many. This traditional dry stone dwellings are听typical of specific听areas of Apulia, their white walls and their conic, dark roofs well recognized by Italians and not Italians all over the world.听Trulli听were farmers’ residences, small, humble, yet entirely functional. Today, they are often rented during the summer or weekends.
Casali听
Casali are synonym with听agricultural and rural life and they are found everywhere in the Italian countryside.听Usually, they overlook large plots of land called听poderi,听set around small urban agglomerates with a church and a square, many of which were either destroyed during the Second World War or abandoned shortly after. Casali 听are, as we said, common all over the territory, but those in Tuscany are probably those with which US tourists are more familiar, even though听Piedmont, Umbria and the regions of the South are also filled by beautiful examples of this type of structures.
The beloved farm houses typical of the Tuscan countryside are usually听big, because they used to host the owner and听contadini 鈥� field hands鈥� along with their big families.They are beautiful and provide a perfect location for all those in need to escape the hustle and bustle of modern life. However, living in a听casale听has become increasingly dangerous: because of their isolation, they are often subject to thieveries.
Baite听
Of course, climate influences the way men build their homes and it is for this reason that the homes of the northern Alpine regions of Italy are usually insulated in such a way to guarantee warmth all year round, and kept even warmer by the high presence of wood in their structure. These typically Alpine dwellings, called听baite, have also roofs that dramatically slant, so to avoid accumulation of snow during the Winter.
Wooden baite听are typical, as we said, of Alpine regions such as Trentino Alto Adige and Valle d’Aosta. They are very much a symbol of Alpine lifestyle and towns. Their structure is associated听to all places where snow is abundant and Winter chilly. Wooden parquet floors, stones and fireplaces are typical features of this type of听dwellings.听Baite听are usually rented during the Winter holidays, but are also home to locals all year round.
The white houses of the South
On the opposite side of the boot, the South, most houses are white and have a terraced roof. This is, once again, a feature derived by the necessities imposed by the climate: white notoriously reflects light and heat away, keeping the inside of the house cooler, whereas flat roofs were useful surface to help collect rain water, often essential in areas where water lacks.
Modern buildings
So far, we have presented a series of traditional Italian buildings, but the country edile history has continued throughout the decades, just as anywhere else in the world.听However, skyscrapers, grattacieli, are not as popular as in the US. They can be found in large, industrial cities such as听Turin, Genoa and听Naples, but Milan is the place where the most iconic are located:听the economic capital of the country is home to, for instance, the听Torre Unicredit (231 m tall), the highest skyscraper in Italy.
Modern Italian families, however, tend to live either in flats when in the city, or freestanding houses when in the suburbs, the latter听called villette.听听In the last years, villette听have become听a luxury that only the whealthiest of Italians can actually听afford: most people live in a flat or, if they are lucky, in a terraced house.
Condos, called in Italian听condomini,听are very common: in cities, as we said earlier, they have been created in old听palazzi storici, which turned from single family residences to multi-flat buildings. In the suburbs, modern multi-flat tower blocks are often found.
Unlikely many countries in Europe, Italian听dwellings are not characterized by a homogeneous style or architecture. Regardless to their size, Italian homes are always functional, well built and insulated, with all mods cons: we Italians, as per everything, never renounce to living our lives in comfort.
By Anna Defilippo
Edited by Francesca Bezzone
