Connections between masserie and historical roads system in Apulia

Abstract

A precise category of Apulian farmsteads, known as masserie, is a significant example of rural buildings featuring relevant architectural and landscape characteristics. Their territorial distribution is diversified and often depend on the close relationship between the building and its adjacent agricultural lot. Moreover, owing to their specific role in overseeing the territory and asserting land tenure rights, Apulian masserie distribution may have genetic origins influenced by other elements, too. The aim of this work is to investigate the existing relationships between masserie and historic roads crossing the Apulia region (Roman roads and sheep’s paths called tratturi), considering both their mutual distance and the individual rural buildings importance. Overlay mapping procedures allow to quantify the amount of masserie falling within the catchment areas of the aforementioned historical roads, while historical and territorial in-depth analysis helped to identify those elements characterising the most interesting masserie from cultural and architectural points of view. The research provided interesting qualitative and quantitative information on the existing relations between these assets, leading to further considerations on the possibility to enhance them through the promotion of their integrated recovery.

Keywords

• consular roads, sheep’s paths, farmhouses, integrated recovery, geographic information system.