Crotto

This article deals with the one-room house in the Poschiavo. For the American chess player, see Rachel Crotto ; for the place of the same name in Argentina see Crotto (Buenos Aires) .

Crotti at Brusio

Crotto at Alp Grüm

A crotto ( plural : Crotti, in the Poschiavo dialect - singular and plural: crot) is a round, domed, one-room house, similar to the trulli in Apulia . Crotti represent a special peculiarity of the Poschiavo / Valposchiavo, but can also be found in the neighboring valleys of Italy (Valchiavenna).

They are made of quarry stone without mortar , a type of construction that was already known in the Bronze Age , and are often built over a spring. When it was used as a milk cellar, water was also available to rinse the vessels. Inside, a crotto is cool and damp, which is why they were used to store food, but some of them were also inhabited.

The Crotto from 1876 (right) stands next to the excursion restaurant "Sassal Mason" at an altitude of 2355  m above sea level. M. and is still used today for storing drinks, especially wine.

See also

• Cantilever vaults made of dry masonry

literature

• Peter Meyer: The big ADAC alpine book . ADAC Verlag GmbH, 81365 Munich 1995, ISBN 3-87003-689-3 .