| Abstrakt: |
The R.I.M.E.M. Project, started ten years ago by Umberto Moscatelli, has the merit of have included also the researches on the historic buildings still existing in the landscape of the upper Chienti Valley. The building archaeology is an important discipline, crucial for a deeper knowledge of every historic and landscape context. The many Medieval and Post medieval architectural remains that our research pointed to, represent a distinctive element of the hilly and mountain landscape in upper Chienti Valley. Our work has produced for the first time a critical and general look to these remains, useful to create the basis for a large cataloguing of the historic architecture, never undertook, before, within the examined area. The summary work starts from the outcomes of a first classification, enriched with new elements resulting from a further census, that had the advantage to have been carried out on fortified settlements, defensive buildings, rural housing, and infrastructures linked to ancient and medieval road networks. The methodological approach is based both on fieldwork research and on a systematic study of documentary and archive sources like the notary deeds, often difficult to be read but rich of information. The need of firm chronological elements, necessary to date the building phases, is even more important in this context because of the lack of medieval archaeological excavations. The classification of building techniques has also included several significant Romanic monumental complexes, strongly characterizing this inland landscape; our purpose is to elaborate a mapping as large as possible of Medieval building techniques, and to point out some possible similarities between military and civil buildings, recognizing chronological markers. In fact we noticed some recurring features, such as, first and more evident among all, the site location, mostly isolated and dominant. Sometimes the fortified sites are positioned in such a way as to ensure the mutual visibility, as to enhance the whole fortification system. The registered building techniques, show the constant use of stone as main building material. In most of the examined cases the stone used is the one locally available. This can suggest that people living in those areas, even if far from each other, would have adopted a similar parameter in the choice of building materials. The creation of the atlas confirmed the five typologies of building techniques previously classified (D'Ulizia 2010). Also for the areas analyzed in this case, has been noticed the complete absence of technique 1 (irregular without courses), while the main part of the wall structures is realized with: faces in a quite regular technique with the use of local stone, elements not carefully finished and organized on courses tending to a certain horizontality (technique 2). This technique describes therefore the average level of the buildings. The identification of several subtypes reveals specific and peculiar ways of building with the application of different patterns, but always in accordance with a main and specific building tradition. Occasionally we noticed the use of the technique number 3 (horizontal courses), while just in one case (San Benedetto de cripta saxi latronis) the more technically careful typologies (techniques 4 and 5), that commonly characterize religious settlements, have been recognized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
