Sextantio Albergo Diffuso at Matera, Le Grotte della Civita

Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita MATERA www.sextantio.it

ALBERGO DIFFUSO

ALBERGO DIFFUSO

CONSERVING ABANDONED HISTORIC APENNINE VILLAGES; AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECTS AT SANTO STEFANO DI SESSANIO AND THE SASSI DI MATERA.

The Santo Stefano di Sessanio project - and similar ones planned for other abandoned historic villages in our mountains - is part of a radical and far sighted plan to preserve a local heritage.

The term “traditional architectural heritage” is used here to describe a vernacular architecture which developed to sustain the needs of the people, as opposed to the “noble” buildings in the urban centres of power and wealth.

This traditional heritage was not developed via a top-down cultural influence, interpreted by architects, but rather from a particular social setting - with its roots indelibly linked to the history of the rural area.

But why does this architecture have such a unique

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relationship with the landscape?

Firstly, for practical reasons.

period. Post-war compromises, and materials used in recent Poverty meant that local

urban construction are incompatible with this historic

materials had to be used - this defined the way the buildings

landscape.

were constructed.

But the reasons for this ancient relationship between the

We believe that our economic model for the conservation

landscape and architecture can be understood on a more

of this landscape is the only workable plan for an area

profound level.

suffering from poverty and abandonment.

The rural towns and villages of the Mediterranean mountains were, for the most part, been on the margins of the post-

But there are cultural and political issues that need

war economic boom.

The local people, with their ancient

to be resolved when putting into place our system of

cultural roots, have resisted the overtures of the modern

conservation. In central-southern Italy, the historic hill

world.

town has never been the subject of a clearly articulated

In light of these circumstances, we are developing a model

strategy for conservation. It was always too remote from

to conserve and renovate these historic villages, many of

the great urban, classical cultural heritage.

which have are empty or semi-abandoned.

Our model for

So it is important to create a framework for the preservation

preserving this heritage involves a partnership between

of this traditional architectural heritage. This framework

private investment and local government.

is underpinned by two main concepts: •

Creation and enforcement of conservation areas in

We have set out basic guidelines for this project.

the abandoned historic hill towns and the surrounding

Our basic position is that strict rules should be put in

landscape.

place to protect the historic architecture. We advocate

regulations which are strictly in keeping with the existing

zero-tolerance towards any new building that interrupts

historic architecture.

the integrity of the landscape and its urban centres.

•

Our reasons for taking such a position are simple.

The

Putting in place and enforcing building

Creation of new economic activity in these areas via

conservation projects delivered on time.

relationship between the historic buildings, with their castellated hill-top settings developed during the medieval

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With regard to the involvement of private finance, we have

set out the following guidelines, which we believe can be implemented and integrated within the framework of public legislation.

1.

Maintaining the original use, form and materials of the

building.

2.

All the architectural fittings used to replace those

which have been lost are sourced from the local area.

The difference between classical restoration vernacular conservation,

and this

is that much architectural

salvage is interchangeable between locations.

3.

Our approach to conservation includes the retention

of traces of life found in the fabric of the building - symbols of the lives of the people. In many restorations they are covered up or removed, but for us they are part of the history of a village.

4.

Furnishing in keeping with the rural historic traditions;

from the beds, to the linen which covers them (created by artisans in local style and colour). To make sure that we are following original traditions, we have researched and authenticated furnishings with the Museum of the People of Abruzzo.

Where we need to recreate elements which are no longer present - from bedside tables to towels – rather than introduce new design elements, we will use local materials, which reflect the colour, texture and scents identified with

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the local area.

symbols of poverty, or creating a ‘peasant theme park’.

With a heritage that developed though time but without any formal style, modern additions which are not in harmony with

The most vital aspect of the conservation of this rural

the original architecture and materials create discord.

heritage is the prevention of the construction of new

Where elements need to be added to allow modern living

buildings – sustaining the relationship between the historic

–

architecture and the landscape. It is imperative that new

such as bathrooms, which did not exist in the original

structures – we feel a minimalist design is best suited. The

legislation is put in place to stop new construction.

simple formal elegance of modern design (such as a Stark bathtub) will not clash with the original historic context.

Unfortunately during in the last fifty years, nearly all the historic hill towns of the region have been the victims

In brief, the underlying philosophy is to not betray the

of new building, much of which imports styles alien to the

‘soul’ of the building.

traditional local architecture –

typically Swiss style,

Tyrolean villas.

Our solution to preserving the buildings is extremely

The identity our landscape needs to be protected against the

conservative. It is a response to the original historic

irreversible invasion of globalized tourism and unfettered

elements, where new circumstances have demanded solutions

development. The conservation of our territory should be a

that do not betray the original architecture. Our signature

political objective. It is in our collective interest to preserve

style is the re-use of original materials salvaged from the

our heritage without compromise, for the generations to

local area.

come.

We respect the symbolic identity of the buildings. In the Abruzzo mountains the peasant life was had its own intimate THE SASSI OF MATERA PROJECT

poetry. The interiors of the buildings, for all their poverty, had a welcoming feel; the friendly hearth at the heart of the house.

I would like to outline the differences and similarities

One of the principal aims of our conservation is to maintain

between the Santo Stefano and Sassi of Matera projects.

this sense of welcome, but without sentimentalising the

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To conserve the Sassi (caves) in the Matera project, we had

the following objectives.

1.

Use of original architectural materials.

2.

Disguising the use of modern technology.

3.

Minimalist new design elements, introduced only where

absolutely necessary.

For a number of reasons, the project in Matera is profoundly different to that at Santo Stefano.

The Sassi (caves) of Matera have a unique architecture, which defined this conservation project.

The Sassi (caves) have a unique human history, which is more complicated than the Mountain villages of the Apennines.

This story goes back to pre-history,

and later Cenobite

monastic orders living alongside the rural community.

Another consideration is that the interiors of the Sassi have very basic decorations, much simpler than the hill-top towns. The living conditions in the Sassi were very basic well described in Carlo Levi’s seminal book, Christ Stopped at Eboli. In practice, many caves were simply for sleeping in - the warm climate encouraged an outdoor life. Much more attention was paid to external architecture.

These factors meant that our approach to conserving the interiors would involve a minimalist approach, using plain

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furnishing.

these caves, we used recycled materials to build furniture

Often the furniture has been built into the structure to

(cupboards, chairs, desks). Our aim was that the simplicity

maintain a continuity of form and function with the original

of form, fusing with the structure, would not interrupt the

building.

dramatic setting of the Sassi. We wanted our changes to

Given the irregular surfaces, if we introduced

free standing furniture it would be unstable, and feel out

form a dialogue with the cityscape and its history.

of context.

Our objective was to make the minimum intervention to the interior, letting the cave interior express itself - so lights were hidden (they were made into features, at Santo Stefano).

Where needed, and with reference to the lives once lived in 08

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ALBERGO DIFFUSO

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