Dry stone buildings in Sicily. An environmental and territorial resource

Abstract

Dry stone constructions are widespread throughout many regions across the world, in a wide variety of forms, according to the environmental and socio-economic contexts, and constitute a valuable know-how which is today in danger of disappearing. In Sicily dry stone works have traditionally been used in the area of Val di Noto where they constitute a key character of the landscape, and in the Madonie Mounts in which some policies of enhancement have been recently initiated. In the framework of the Grundtvig programme “La préservation du patrimoine architectural bâti en pierre sèche”, an in-depth analysis of these architectures have been pursued, aiming to create a database inventory. This paper illustrates the peculiar features of dry stone heritage in Sicily, as an environmental and territorial resource.