Italians are beating the scorching heat inside ingenious medieval homes
Popular Science...
Adapting to the ongoing climate crisis will require architectural innovation, but not every problem requires a cutting-edge solution. Amide deadly, record-breaking summer temperatures, some residents in southern Italy are sidestepping the heat inside revitalized medieval buildings. Although out of fashion for generations, a type of home known as the trullo is gaining popularity once again for its ingenious, temperature lowering design.
The first trulli (plural of trullo) were built during the mid-14th century. The buildings are traditionally one-room structures topped with a large, conical roof. Assembled using limestone removed from farmlands, each trullo features thick walls measuring anywhere from five-to-10-feet-deep.
One of the secrets to the trulli’s natural cooling lies in the stones. Limestone’s hygrothermal properties means that it acts differently depending on the humidity and temperatures. It will absorb large amounts of moisture during the colder winter months, but all of that liquid slowly evaporates and cools the interior once the summer arrives. Meanwhile, the cone roof funnels even more excess heat upwards.
The ambient temperature inside one of the structures is typically around 12.6 to 18 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than outside. In some cases, that number may even rise to over 25 degrees colder in the home.
Centuries of slow disrepair and disappearing artisans meant that by the 1980s, most new construction jobs relied on cement—a material with its own immense ecological strains.
“The trulli represented a past age, one of suffering and hunger,” trullo restorer Francesco Fragnelli explained in an interview with the AFP.
Artisans like Fragnelli aren’t only repairing existing trulli, however. Demand for new construction projects “is still rising,” according to Gerardo Biancofiore, a town representative for the Italian builders association.
“With the increase in heat waves, traditional solutions (such as trulli) are becoming a valuable reference, capable of inspiring climate adaptation strategies for contemporary construction as well,” Biancofiore said.
Beyond new trulli, the homes’ underlying properties such as walls with rubble cores may soon also show up in other bioclimatic architecture projects.
“Sustainable architecture scholars look at the principles behind the trulli’s construction as a source of inspiration for buildings more resilient to global warming,” added Biancofiore.
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