International Conference on Modern Age fortifications of the Mediterranean coast © Editorial - ISBN: [...]
The fortification system along the coastline of Salento peninsula: the metamorphosis of fortified masserie and coastal towers Elisa Schipa, Alessandro Venneri Sapienza Universita’ di Roma, Roma, Italy, schipa.elisa@gmail.com Sapienza Universita’ di Roma, Roma, Italy, alevenneri90@gmail.com
Abstract Salento is attractive today for its geographic location between two seas, its beautiful diverse landscape and many monumental buildings sited there for centuries. During the XVI century the military character has deeply marked this territory, conditioning the development of the land called "Terra d’ Otranto"; for this reason the rural houses has been equipped with defence and fortification items. Under the control of Charles V, between the first and the second half of the XVII Century, in the peninsula of Terra d’Otranto flourished various fortification works on both the Adriatic and Ionian coasts, such as coastal towers, towers-farm, castles and tower houses. These formed an extended network, but it was not enough to keep safe the population that continued to be threatened by Turks, pirates and bandits. Particularly, during the Sixteenth Century, in a climate of such insecurity and due to the growing interest of the nobility for the countryside, the Salento rural habitat undergoes profound changes. Keywords: fortification, salento, coastal towers, masseria.
1. Introduction Nowadays it is called Salento. Once it was best known as the justiciarship of Terra d’Otranto, even though it was named this way only during the Middle Ages (during the Ancient Greece domination it was called Calabria Messapica – Messapic Calabria , while for the Roman Empire it belonged to the Apulia et Calabriae provincial - district of Apulia and Calabria).
Wien in 1814), lastly of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. After the Expedition of the Thousand, a paramount event in the Italian Unification process, that marks the end of the thousand-year old kingdom, the area became a province of the newborn Kingdom of Italy. The law passed on 20 March 1865 changes the name of this territory into Provincia di Lecce, the 56th state district. During Mussolin’s dictatorship it was split up into three districts: on 2 September 1923 the Royal Decree n. 1911 ratified the birth of the Taranto district and then on 22 December 1927, another decree ratified the birth of the Brindisi district.
During its history it was a district (Italian: provincia) of the Kingdom of Sicily first, and of the Kingdom of Naples then and, after the Restoration (that begun with the Congress of
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After World War II the Salento County (Italian: regione) was established and almost immediately abolished by the Constitutional Committee (it only lasted from 17 December 1946 until 29 October 1947.
The very coat of arms of Terra d’Otranto tells us the story of this area: a red and yellow striped shield, honouring the Aragon domination and a dolphin with an half moon in his mouth, symbolising the reign of Aragon defeating the Turks, ending the war between West and East.
This short introduction seems to be necessary to best frame times and spaces of an area that has often been deprived of its ambitions: politically it has always been peripheral, nevertheless the Terra d’Otranto area has experienced both splendour and decadency.
This military soul influenced not only the coastal sighting towers but also –and mainlythe working places like fortified masserie and those churches that integrated the defense system as well as serving the area with cult and agricultural purposes.
Fig. 1- Atlante Sallentino del Pacelli, 1807
Fig. 2- Schema incursioni
1.1. 1.1 The defense system A thematic feature, that significantly shaped this territory influencing its development, was the military one.
Nowadays is still possible to easily pinpoint the architectural elements made necessary in a past characterized by fear. Tower, defense structures coexist with buildings typical of the hard works into the field.
Since the XIV century, the southern part of Salento has been equipped with adequate enough means of defense in order to protect the area from those enemies who came from across the sea.
The massive presence of fortified masserie all along the Adriatic and Jonic coasts shows how living in the countryside was unsafe from 1400 till 1800. For example, the conquest of Otranto by the Turks, in 1480, and the complete destruction of the villages of Castro and Marittima in 1537 terrorized not only the populations of the coastal towns, but also those people living in the countryside.
A lot of the coastal villages were built starting from a castle that, the more fortified the better it was in the eyes of the people living at that time. The so-called masserie were a sort of pillboxes often characterized by a sighting tower while the rock caves sheltered people from any kind of danger. The military base and the bunkers from the Second World War, now abandoned, were used as strategic sighting point in case of any enemy landing.
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Fig. 1- Cartina Turchi (Piri Reis, 1513) The Turks, in fact, attacked not only the coastal areas but the backcountry, too. During the XV and the XVI centuries the Turks threat was the nightmare of the Salento people because the defense system built by the Normans, the Angevins and the Aragons was not strong enough. The government had to do something to protect the region by limit the attacks and make this defense system safer: a lot of coastal towers were built or restored as well as many castles and the defense structures around the town were reinforced. Similar solutions were adopted to avoid the depopulation of the countryside in a favourable time for the agriculture, and to protect the peasants living into and the goods stored in the masserie.
Fig. 1- Cartina grande tav2 (Rielaborazione Carta Tecnica Regionale)
The XVI Century was, in conclusion, the time when the phenomenon of fortified rural houses mainly developped. Already from the second half of 1500 the Terra d’Otranto was full of defense buildings such as coastal towers, towers-masseria, castles and CASE-TORRI. They were partof a thick defense system.
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2. Coastal sighting towers Those towers used with defense or sighting purpose first developed during the Byzantine Age, when it started to become ordinary to build the so-called “pyrgoi” next to the monasteries. They were watching towers that made possible to locate the rural village and allowed it to be in touch with other villages and the road system. The Spanish and Carlo V, especially during the second half of 1500, were responsible for the creation of an organic set of coastal fortifications, which aim was to hinder the muslim threat. Due to some economic issues, the towers required a lot of time to be completed and often they were built without paying the right amount of attention to every detail.
Fig. 1- Analisi murature Campione B (James Manson, 2005)
It was not uncommon that the master builders, who subscribed an agreement, used seawater instead of fresh water causing, therefore, the walls to quickly wear away and the consequent destruction of these monuments.
These towers, after losing their original function, were mainly abandoned or used as a place to store agricultural tools. Nevertheless they still have their austere look, that even today dominates on those buildings that now incorporate them. Nowadays it is possible to find more than 200 towers in the Lecce part of the Salento countryside.
Torre Mozza (cut off tower) wasnamed this way because it collapsed a lot of times shortly after it was built.
2.1 Truncated-cone shape Tower Le torri più antiche, risalenti generalmente alla prima metà del Cinquecento, hanno base troncoconica compatta, su cui si imposta la parte cilindrica, con all'interno un unico ambiente voltato e paramenti in pietrame. Sotto il basamento o entro di esso viene ricavata l'ampia cisterna, nella quale si raccoglieva l'acqua piovana che scendeva dal lastrico.
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torri costiere, presentano dimensioni ridotte: ogni torre, infatti, doveva contenere il minor numero possibile di armati, poiché non aveva compiti difensivi "attivi", ma piuttosto aveva la funzione di dare il preavviso ai centri abitati dell'interno.
Fig. 1- Torre Alto Lido, Galatone (Lecce), torre troncoconica con scala interna 2.2 Truncated-pyramid shape Tower La torre troncopiramidale rappresenta la tipologia più diffusa di torre costiera. La sua altezza si aggira intorno ai 10 o 12 metri e la misura del lato di base esternamente è di circa 10 o 12 metri, mentre quella del lato interno é di circa 5 metri o poco più; ciò accade dal momento che i paramenti sono verticali all'interno, ma scarpati all'esterno, per facilitare l'azione delle caditoie e per conferire maggiore solidità alla struttura. L'inclinazione della scarpa è, generalmente, del 5%. Una tipologia particolare di queste torri costiere è rappresentata dalle torri troncopiramidali con scala esterna, spesso nate come torri troncopiramidali semplici a cui, in epoca più recente, viene addossata una scala monumentale. Anche queste, come la maggior parte delle
Fig. 1- Foto e pianta della torre troncopiramidale con scala esterna della Torre costiera di Santa Maria Dell’Alto, Nardò (Lecce)
LAYOUT DA SISTEMARE
3. Fortified Masserie
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When carefully examined, the making-of process of the built-up area reveals an historical stratification of the constituent elements of the masserie. It is mainly the case of those volumes that had joined the nucleus since the second half of the XVI Century till the end of the XVII –that was the time when most of the fortification works were made necessary.
quoted “masserie as rationality models”. Two examples of this rationality are first, the rainwater collecting system, by means of tanks and small canals used to flush/irrigate the field and to water the livestock, and second the significant difference between the coastal masserie (proper keeps) and the backcountry ones, with weaker defense systems.
The most ancient structures are those that incorporated square-based, troncoconica o troncopiramidale shaped towers with an only entrance kept safe by a storm drain. This is the case of the Capo di Leuca masserie: they are different from the other masserie in the Basso Salento that are usually characterized by a courtyard structure.
A courtyard is a small, inner piazza towards which all the volumes point. The main purpose was to grant an adequate coefficient of functionality to all the various elements of the complex, in order to ease the straining efforts made by the workers. Such an hard and spending working life required different solutions from time to time. That being said, it is possible to summarize the main features of these complexes in the following way:
The spaces were not randomly distributed; the setting of the ancillary compartments (accommodations for workers and servants, stables, warehouses, haylofts, ovens) around the chore structure (the tower) could be chaotic at a first look yet everything was built according to an organising unitary logic. The characteristic placement at a different time and on a different level of the various units is the result of a building know-how and good taste. In relation to this matter Manlio Rossi Doris could be
Strong identity features. Any unit, design or building that did not belong with the natural Mediterranean habit were not allowed. One of the main experts in building techniques, Luigi Mongiello, wrote “the architectural shapes of Apulian masserie contains the building expertise of countless generations”. Magna Graecia farms, late Roman Empire rural villas, and Middle Ages feuds were all likely archetypes, while Domenico Novembre offers as reference point the Byzantine Age fortified village, particularly focusing on the Middle Eastern pygoi, first brought to Apulia and Basilicata by Justinian. A great deal of importance was given to the storage of the foodstuffs, placed at the last storey, even above the farmer (massaro) residence.
Compared to the other Apulian masserie, the ones in the Salento region are smaller, due not only to the poorer economic conditions but also to the day labourers’ commuting, who preferred to go home in the nearby village after they were done for the day. Besides, the fortified masserie in this area are schematically simpler on the layout point of view, highlighting the socio-economic conditions, the kind of farming and usage of the fields.
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3.1 Torre-Masseria
one metre, are mostly perpendicular, often with a scarp wall base; the crowning element/pediment ends with a full parapet or with an added battlement.
Fortified masserie in the Salento are mainly “tower-masserie�, that is to say simple buildings made up by two units: the tower itself, where the farmer’s residence is lacated and an attached structure on the ground floor, usually used with/for business/farming purposes. These two elements are, as a norm, enclosed by a fence that often surrounds also an orchard.
The roofing, which is flat, allows a further sighting thanks either to loopholes obtained along the crowning element or to a stepped raised part at the top of the buildings. This kind of structure had been very common from 1500 till 1700, both in the coastal areas and in the backcountry.
Commonly, the tower-building was two storeys tall that were connected/linked by a ladder that passed through a trapdoor cut into the vault. By pulling up the ladder it was impossible for the enemies to go up. Sometimes, however, the connection between the two levels was a staircase made of stone obtained from the perimetral walls. In the case of an outer staircase, a drawbridge was put at the end of it, and it was closed whenever any danger approached, making the tower unreachable. Due to the latest changes, the outer drawbridges, probably made of wood, are now disappeared. This might have been a defense solution taken according to the military architecture, and therefore, typical of coastal towers during 1500.
Fig. 1- Masseria Cippano, foto e pianta della Masseria-Torre 3.2 Masseria provided with a tower Fig. 1- Sistema difensivo tav2 (Costantini Novembre, ???????)FORSE DA METTERE NELLE TORRI
In those Salento areas, where the fields are most fertile, the agriculture more complex, and therefore, settling into the countryside was made favourable by conspicuous incomes, the building typology of fortified masseria is richer in details and attention paid to the implementation of the various spaces and of the defense system.
The tower and the adjoining space split up the garden from the backyard, designed as a working area, where the well, the utility sink for the laundry, and a drinking through for the livestock.
Sometimes, however, it is only an evolution of the original building, surrounded by other structures or tower-like elements. That is the
Near the backyard there is bigger space (triscicolo) that was used to make the animals rest. The outer walls, sometimes thicker than
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case of masserie provided/equipped with two or more towers, where towers from different ages were connected creating a new kind of housing unit. The volumetric outlook of the structures is compact, with the tower predominating over the other buildings of which the rural habitat is made of. You can easily observe the two unified towers at Masseria Baroni in Acquarica del Capo, while a good example of a masseria with a tower and a staircase is the one made by Masseria Cristo in Torre Mozza, near Ugento.
courtyard, it houses the farmer’s home or the landlord’s seasonal residence. On the other hand, farm buildings, warehouses, stables, hayloft, cabin/sheds/huts, and sheepfolds are all elements that surround the uncovered part of this kind of masseria. In this kind of settlement, what makes sure that the main entrance is safe is the is either the entrance hall or the front gate, obtained from the section of wall that divide the road from the courtyard by closing it. This is a typology o d building that marks the transition from the tower-masseria to the solid/compact masseria, that will later become the villamasseria or a hunting-lodge-masseria.
3.3 Closed-courtyard Masseria When the tower constitutes the main building, being the centre of every activity, the masseria will be run according to a certain kind of agriculture based on pastoralism and grain growth. When, instead/however, the tower is moved from the centre of the fence to one of the sides, the residence system radically changes, and it gets characterized by a whole set of more complex cultivations, that needs an increased and stable manpower and suitable spacer for every activity. These are the socalled masserie a corte chiusa (closedcourtyard masserie).
A typical example of a closed-courtyard masseria could be the one made by Masseria Console in Nardò. 3.4 Masseria - Casino Il processo di rinnovamento agrario, che in molte regioni italiane del Nord era stato avviato già dal Settecento, nelle campagne del Mezzogiorno coincide con il periodo di crisi che coinvolge soprattutto la Terra d'Otranto. Come abbiamo già ricordato in precedenza, infatti, tra il XVII e il XVIII secolo il paesaggio agrario di buona parte del Mezzogiorno è caratterizzato da un'assoluta instabilità dell'azienda contadina. In alcune regioni, questa "rivoluzione agraria" raggiunse dei livelli più alti e l'insediamento rurale presentò profondi processi di ristrutturazione. I complessi edilizi, così, si arricchiscono di nuove forme e di nuovi contenuti. Una serie di elementi negativi, però, non hanno consentito di sfruttare al massimo le condizioni fisiche del territorio, che in epoche precedenti avevano contribuito a formare il “bel giardino mediterraneo”. Tra il Seicento e il Settecento, alcune regioni del Nord quali la Toscana, la Lombardia e il Veneto iniziarono a trasformare le antiche residenze signorili in centri capaci di riorganizzare le attività agrofondiarie del
On the groundfloor, the tower is replaced with a compartments for vehicles, that links the countryside with the private part of the courtyard. This entrance hall, locally called sappuertu, is traceable in many apartments buildings or courtyard buildings of the town and is, alongside the courtyard , one of the features of both the centralised rural settlement and the scattered one. From the fence, what is now obtained is a closed-courtyard structure, a better typology for the social structure of a masseria, that allows all of its inner activities (agricultural and familiar) to be connected to each other and favours their development. This kind of masserie are characterized by the tower being the tallest element. At its tallest storey, reachable with a staircase accessible from the
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paesaggio agrario. Nelle campagne del Mezzogiorno, invece, si continua a restare chiusi nella feudalità che rendeva sempre più difficili i rapporti tra le classi dominanti e quelle dominate. Verso la fine del Settecento, però, la crisi dell'olivicoltura e la crescita della domanda del vino, anche sul mercato europeo, comportarono una limitata trasformazione del paesaggio della Terra d'Otranto. La diffusione del vigneto, incise notevolmente sulle tipologie insediative rurali, anche se la masseria fortificata rappresenta ancora la forma abitativa più diffusa. Così una coltura meno rustica e più complessa comportò la creazione di fabbricati in grado di rispondere alle esigenze delle pratiche colturali, legate alla viticoltura, ma soprattutto più idonei ad accogliere le famiglie dei contadini, che nella maggior parte dei casi, in precedenza, aveva dimorato nei paesi. Così, tra la fine del Settecento e l'inizio dell'Ottocento si determina un processo di ristrutturazione e di adeguamento di alcuni vecchi complessi masserizi. Questo è il periodo in cui si diffonde una nuova tipologia insediativa, che prende il nome di masseria-casino, una forma abitativa che si presenta come una tipica dimora palazziata, nella quale i locali a piano terra sono sempre destinati ad ospitare, nei mesi estivi o nel periodo di raccolta, la famiglia del proprietario. Spesso il “casino” racchiude le strutture della vecchia masseria, con facciate spaziose, impostate con accurata simmetria e divise orizzontalmente e verticalmente da cornici. La tipologia masseria-casino è molto diffusa in tutto il Mezzogiorno d'Italia e segna il passaggio da un'economia agricolo-pastorale ad un'economia basata prevalentemente sulle colture dell'olivo, della vite e del mandorlo. Nelle aree dove si diffondono maggiormente queste colture l'antica masseria è stata gradatamente adattata ad accogliere soprattutto
gli strumenti per la lavorazione dell'uva e dell'ulivo e la conservazione dell'olio e del vino. Comunemente definita masseria compatta, è composta da un fabbricato a due piani con un numero di ambienti per lo più superiore a quello delle altre tipologie di masserie. Il piano terra generalmente è destinato a rustico, alla lavorazione dei prodotti dell'allevamento e della coltura. I piani superiori, invece, sono destinati all'abitazione del massaro e alla conservazione dei prodotti cerealicoli. Gli ambienti sono costituiti dal salone principale che, posto nella parte centrale dell'edificio, apre una o più finestre sui balconi che affacciano sul piazzale antistante e sul giardino chiuso. Spesso questo balcone si sviluppa per tutta la lunghezza del prospetto, diventando corridoio di disimpegno esterno, che si appoggia su arcate sorrette da massicci pilastri con straordinari effetti scenografici. Altre volte il balcone diventa ampia terrazza che, seguendo il profilo del prospetto, realizza a piano terra ampi porticati che il contadino utilizza per mettere al riparo il carro oppure gli attrezzi agricoli. Il prospetto, spesso arricchito da scale scenografiche, è simmetrico: al centro c'è un portale che porta ad un androne passante dal quale si può accedere all'abitazione del giardiniere, alla scala per raggiungere il primo piano, ai magazzini e depositi ed al giardino chiuso dove si articolano i vialetti coperti da pergolati, con eleganti sedili in pietra, pozzi e cisterne. Sul piazzale d'ingresso si trova la cappella. Possiamo dire, quindi, che la masseria-casino esprime il nuovo rapporto che si stabilì la fine del Settecento e l'inizio dell'Ottocento tra i proprietari terrieri e le famiglie dei contadini. E' una nuova tipologia edilizia dove la casa del lavoratore di associa a quella del proprietario terriero in un fabbricato a due piani il cui prospetto non distingue le due classi sociali.
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