Dammuso
Dammuso ( dammusu means vaulted roof in the Sicilian language ) is the name for typical traditional stone built houses in Pantelleria .
Dammuso refers to a historical house shape on the island in Modica , Palazzolo Acreide , Buccheri and generally the Monti Iblei in Italy . They were formed from a natural grotto , expanded over the centuries, and usually used for local purposes.
Dammusi on Pantelleria
The houses typical of the island of Pantelleria have their origins in antiquity, at the time of the Phoenicians' presence ; they have gradually been changed to this day. The first examples were houses made of local lava stone, built using drywall, square and small. With the arrival of the Romans, the roof, which was pulled down to the ground, was transformed into a dome. This transformation formed the precursor to building cisterns to collect water.
The dome shape, which gave the roof more strength, allowed the rainwater to be collected in large quantities in the cisterns, which was used during the long, dry summers on Pantelleria. For the purpose of sealing, the roof surface was insulated again with lime, also for thermal insulation.
Another common feature of these rural buildings are the Pantellerias gardens, a traditional and unique solution of this island. They are surrounded by high dry stone walls in a circle. This construction keeps the plants, especially citrus and / or fruit trees, isolated and protected from the constant strong winds.
In the meantime, the name "Dammuso" has been carried over to modern residential buildings and hotel names.
Dammusi of the Monti Iblei
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The typical karst of the Monti Iblei created a whole system of caves, which favored the formation of a number of small villages in prehistoric times. The ancient Siculians settled in as early as the 8th century BC. In the Iblei area and created new caves next to the natural ones. Over the centuries these caves were first used as burial sites and only then as houses. During the reign of the Arabs in Sicily, the caves were expanded with wood and then finally with dry stone . Modica is a typical example in that the caves were the first human settlement: small houses in the historical part of the city have preserved this important testimony of the past. In the area of Palazzolo Acreide , Buscemi , Buccheri, Ferla and Cassaro , dammusi are very common and, if they were not built from existing caves, they are also realized with a limestone arch architecture that widened the cave or the ceiling.
See also
literature
- Michael Fsadni: The Girna. The Maltese Corbelled Stone Hut. Dominican Publication, Malta 1992.
- Gerhard Rohlfs : Primitive domed buildings in Europe (= Bavarian Academy of Sciences, Philosophical-Historical Class. Treatises. NF 43, ISSN 0005-710X ). Publishing house of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, Munich 1957.
bibliography
- Francesco Bonasera: La dimora rurale nelle isole minori pertinenti alla Sicilia occidentale. In: Giorgio Valussi: La casa rurale nella Sicilia occidentale (= Ricerche sulle dimore rurali in Italia. 24, ZDB -ID 741357-9 ). Olschki, Florenz 1968, pp. 167-182.
