Architecture, Tradition and Recovery in a Minor Historical Center of Friuli

Architecture, tradition and recovery in a minor historical center of Friuli Venezia Giulia * Livio Petriccione, ** Francesco Chinellato, keywords: building type, Valcellina, *** Giorgio Croatto, **** Giovanni Santi, vernacular, manufacture, stone ***** Umberto Turrini, ***** Angelo Bertolazzi Abstract We propose the result of a prolonged research work de- In the smaller centers scattered along the valley the ag- veloped, relating to traditional vernacular architectures gregation processes of the primitive bicellular units are characterizing minor contexts. The focus of the contribu- readable, with redefinition of the vertical connection tion concerns in particular the territorial area of Valcellina paths, of subdivision into single-cell units (columnar (Pn) characterized by historical and environmental speci- houses at Andreis), of progressive closure of the bal- ficities. From a common elementary typological matrix conies with the generation of a subsequent type (loggia attributable to the paradigm of the pre-Alpine house, the house) most present, above all for climatic reasons in the building heritage has evolved into a series of variants that upper part of the valley, but with different connotations have determined its progressive adaptation to economic than the similar constructions of nearby Carnia. and environmental conditions. From a common elementary typological matrix attributable to the paradigm of the The study clearly shows how the spontaneous con- pre-Alpine house, the building heritage has evolved into science of the settled population is reflected in the con- a series of variants that have determined its progressive structive culture and as a consequence this remains with adaptation to economic and environmental conditions. the changing environmental contexts. 1. INTRODUCTION acterized by a remarkable homogeneity of the vernacular building, being made up of extremely original and very The contribution describes part of the topics and themes addressed in a long research work, started in 2003, focused on the vernacular architecture1 of Valcellina, a pre-Alpine valley in the province of Pordenone. 1 “The so-called ‘vernacular’ architecture, a vaguely derogatory term in Italian, which, however, must be understood, as in other languages, The small village of Andreis constituted one of the privi- in the sense of local building language, that is to say spontaneous leged areas of the analysis because in a certain paradig- phenomenon, specific to a certain area, is in fact specifically the re- matic sense of some issues of general significance, in sult of the indissoluble union between a certain natural environment particular as regards the transformations of the building and a specific human culture”. Cfr. “Attualità del primitivo: ambiente, abitazione, risparmio energetico”, in: “Le ragioni dell’abitare”, a cura type in minor historical contexts. The settlement is char- di G. Cataldi, Alinea, Firenze, 1988, pag. 14. journal valori e valutazioni No. 25 - 2020 21 similar buildings, immediately readable as a concrete ex- However, it should be stressed that: “there is no type with- pression of historical, cultural and technological values. out a model, but the repetitiveness of a model does not In fact, the settlement “has distinct individual character- in itself constitute a sufficient condition for identifying a istics, that is, it appears identified, as something clearly new type”4. In Andreis the cultural homogeneity, the rigid- distinguishable in the surrounding environment, and ity of the subdivision, the constancy of production and clearly differentiated from other settlements, although it housing needs, the isolation and character of the site, the has characteristics common to these, such as to place it essentiality and the small size of the building units, as well with them in a single cultural matrix. There is no doubt as the need to build in a short time, after a traumatic situ- that this individuality constitutes a fundamentally positive ation caused by an earthquake (in 1776), produced the element, not only for the aesthetic result but because it is substantial equality of the “form in itself” (the model) in close relationship with the individuality of its inhabi- which presents qualities of repetitiveness and the “struc- tants”2. The specific characteristics of the context high- ture of the form” (the building type). In other words, type light how in its evolution the building type appears “as the and model basically coincide. result of a mediation between family needs (derived from the previous architectural tradition) and the constraints required by the new settlement”3. 2. THE BUILDING TYPE The building type “ballatoio su setti” was born in Andreis on the typological basis of the pre-Alpine house and is im- plemented in an autochthonous model that is replicated in many buildings. This phenomenon does not occur in other contexts, where the same type generates other models within different aggregation systems. The typological analysis of a general nature of the area has therefore preliminarly redefined, with original contribu- tions compared to previous studies, the Friulian pre- Alpine type: it is a masonry building, of almost always modest size, single span, with external staircase, reduced use of wood, rustic mainly juxtaposed, two-pitched roof Figures 1, 2, 3 - From the left: the porch and loggia type, typi- and roof covering in tiles, entrance and balcony located cal of the upper Valcellina, but generally present in the Carnic on the main elevation under the eaves. Within this macro- Prealps and in Carnia, the “balcony on pillars” type in a buil- grouping in the Carnic Prealps three building typologies ding in the Val Colvera and the “closed type” present above can be substantially specified: the loggia house (wide- all in Cimolais and Barcis (Chinellato et al., 2002). spread especially in the center of Claut, although some very rare examples are also present in Cimolais, Barcis and In this interpretative key, the study has therefore con- Frisanco); the house with arched porch and loggia above firmed how spontaneous architecture can be read and in- (Fig. 1); the wooden gallery house applied or embedded terpreted as a characteristic expression of a community, in the load-bearing wall structure (present above all in An- which has built its homes to fit its needs, measuring itself dreis, Frisanco and Poffabbro, rare cases in Claut and Bar- with the available resources, in terms of manpower and cis) (Fig. 2); finally the closed-volume house with vertical materials. constructive, and with the bio-climatic charac- connection inside the building (widespread above all in teristics of the locus. Claut, Cimolais, and Barcis) (Fig. 3). These artifacts, al- In Andreis there is also an interesting articulation of the though built in neighboring territorial areas, clearly ex- relationship between the building typology and the urban press the different constructive cultures of reference. In morphology, strictly linked to the site. This induces its fact, despite using similar technologies and the same ma- own land occupation and a consequent road structure terial resources, they interpret them in a different way, de- whereby the uniformity of the type is conditioned by the termining the variety of formal typological characteristics. viability and uniformity of the lot. The lot constitutes the The analysis of the typological process highlighted how “cell” of the building fabric and depends above all on the the “ancient” andreana house had a clear bi-cellular sys- building type of the first building. All buildings built in tem, being made up of two rooms on the ground floor, later times must comply with its rules: consequently it is partly underground, one of which used as a kitchen and the model that adapts to the lot, albeit depending on the the other, slightly smaller, called “room”, which served as type variations. a cellar and pantry5. The side walls extended on the front 2 E. Pascolo, Guida agli interventi edilizi nei centri rurali, Regione Au- 4 C. Cecere, Considerazioni sul concetto di tipo, Dipartimento di Ar- tonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia, 1978, pag. 9. chitettura Tecnica e Tecnica Urbanistica, Università degli Studi di 3 E. Guidoni, L’architettura popolare … cit., pag. 206. Roma, La Sapienza, Roma, 1990, pag. 39. 22 journal valori e valutazioni No. 25 - 2020 Architecture, tradition and recovery in a minor historical center of Friuli Venezia Giulia to enclose the porch and the loggia or to support the sup- formation of the “andreano type” which is now more porting structure of the balcony, consisting of a single widespread and immediately recognizable, consisting of wooden beam, supported in the center by a wooden col- single-celled balcony houses, with columnar arrangement umn or a stone pillar. Light entered the kitchen through a of the rooms and balconies supported by the partitions small window on the side of the door and from the door between the units (Figs. 4-5), however, seems to have es- itself, which remained almost always open, having to be tablished itself in times rather recent, that is, starting from used for the smoke to escape. A small slit in the north fa- the after earthquake of 1776 with the reconstruction and vored a certain draft of air for this purpose. Considering construction of the balcony houses that we see today. that all the walls had a load-bearing function, the rooms The abandonment of the arched and portico typology, layout corresponded to the rooms below. Access to the

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