For someone like me who is lucky enough to be literally surrounded by artifacts created with techniques of dry construction they may not seem like unique works in the world, but walls built without mortar or binders are. Here I am.
We imagine this type of construction as simple and efficient dividers or delimiters of roads or landed properties, yet the situation is much more complex.
Dry stone rural architecture comes from a close link with the characteristics of the soil and the environment. In fact, this type of construction is found exclusively where the raw material is naturally present, i.e. limestone.
The construction typology is highly ecological and has a practically zero environmental impact which places this type of construction, absolutely eco-sustainable, among the most representative buildings of green building and green architecture.
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The environmental impact of a pajara is very low, not only due to its absolute integration with the territory which cancels its visual impact as the structures are perfectly and naturally contextualized in the rural landscape, but also and above all because it can, with good reason , talk about a construction typology that fully falls within the criteria of passive architecture.
In fact, a passive structure is one that needs little or no energy input to ensure thermal comfort. In fact, traditional structures did not include windows and during the construction measures were taken to improve comfort, such as the use of hygroscopic materials or "green roofs", which seem to have been invented by modern architecture and which instead have much more ancient.
The trulliform dry constructions very common in Puglia take different names depending on the territory and functions.
For example in Salento…
In Salento most of the constructions with dry techniques are indicated with Pajare, but the names with which these constructions are indicated differ a lot in Salento itself.
In fact, Truddu is the denomination found in the land registers according to De Fabrizio. Palumbo derives this word from "turrula", diminutive of the Latin "turris", therefore "small tower". According to another scholar, Simoncini, the Indo-Germanic root "Tor" passes to Greek and Latin, implying the concept of roundness.
Casedda, on the other hand, is the denomination that De Fabrizio always notes in the land registers of the Murgia and Taranto. Simoncini confirms this denomination by geographically placing it between the central-northern Murgia and the coast between Barletta and Polignano. In the countryside of Tuglie, according to Panìco, the locution caseddha instead indicates a smaller and simpler building than the "Furnieddhu" but more articulated as it is placed side by side with other buildings.
The wording Pajaru or Pajara which is also found in the transcript Pagghiaru or Pagghiara according to De Fabrizio, it indicated a dry stone construction with a straw roof and was widespread in the land registers of the province of Lecce. Costantini identifies in the presence of the threshing floor, which characterizes these structures, as the index of a use of the Pajari (or of the Pajare, if you prefer) for the storage of straw obtained from the threshing of cereals even if the name is not always linked to the function specific.
Finally, according to Spano, the Pagghiari (or Pagghiare) would be, in the vast majority, simple shelters, devoid of reinforcements at the base and devoid, in most cases, at least in the northern territory of Magliano as far as Lecce, of a summit clearing which was replaced instead from clods of earth.
Furnu or Furnieddu, on the other hand, is the name given to the dry stone construction intended for drying and cooking bread or figs. Calò describes them as truncated-conical constructions (only in some cases truncated-pyramidal), contained in two or three levels of concentric steps, built entirely with dry stone. Buildings consisting of a single room with a quadrangular plan, and in the more ancient forms circular, with a false dome roof. Costantini points out that the word "Furnu" finds no justification with the explanation that the farmers themselves often give. Etymologically, the term could be explained only if these constructions were equipped with a hearth or an oven for baking bread. The hypothesis formulated that the term furnu is the name attributed to shelters equipped with equipment for baking bread and for cooking is however denied by the fact that in most of the areas in which this term is used, one rarely encounters a fireplace or hearth inside or outside the building.
Finally, according to Spano, the term "Furnu" is to be related to the fact that the farmer considers his shelter a real oven because, during the summer months, he used the surfaces of the steps and the terrace to arrange the trellises and the mats with the figs to be dried. Therefore the construction was called furnu only with a broad reference to a place used for cooking or roasting a product.
The most curious and little used denomination is that of Chìpuru which De Fabrizio attributes to the area of Grecìa Salentina while De Lia refers its diffusion above all to Maglie. Simoncini, on the other hand, broadens the area of diffusion of this word up to Leuca, tracing the term back to the Greek and literally translating it with "guardian of the field".
Giving an exact date of birth to this type of construction is difficult. According to some, these are buildings built in periods after the year one thousand, in the Byzantine era. Others, such as Cosimo De Giorgi, do not exclude a more ancient origin, between 2000 BC and the end of the Bronze Age, as an evolution of megalithic constructions such as the mirrors. The discovery of mosaics from the Roman era depicting dry structures very similar to pajare and furneddhi would favor this hypothesis.
1) Natural materials: Dry stone walls are built using natural materials, such as stones or rocks, which are available locally without the need to produce or transport them. This means that the construction does not require the use of energy resources for the production or transport of materials.
2) Minimal environmental impact: The construction of dry stone walls does not require the use of mortar or cement, so there is no need to consume water for mixing and cleaning tools. Additionally, dry stone walls require a minimal amount of excavation, which reduces the environmental impact on the surrounding fauna and flora.
3) Durability: Dry stone walls are built to last a long time, often for hundreds of years. This means they do not need to be rebuilt frequently, thus reducing the environmental impact of construction and demolition.
4) Adaptability: Dry stone walls can easily be dismantled and rebuilt in another area if needed. This means they can be used sustainably for landscape conservation.
In summary, dry stone walls are considered ecological because they are built with natural materials, have minimal environmental impact, last a long time and are adaptable
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