The 18th-Century Baraccato of L’Aquila

ABSTRACT

This article attempts to describe a particular form of baraccata house, found in L’Aquila, Italy. The differences between this form of baraccato and the Italian traditional timber-framed (T-F) structures, the baraccato borbonico and the baraccato alla beneventana, are shown. In the upper valley of the Aterno river (Abruzzo, Italy), a few kilometers far from L’Aquila, wonderful 18^th-century examples of T-F masonry structures are present. The use of wood pervades both the poor and noble buildings. In this article, the documentary and functional features of this peculiar anti-seismic timber-based building technique, which is widespread in L’Aquila and the neighboring areas, is described. After a comparative analysis of the technique’s features, the case of three T-F buildings, belonging to three different social classes is reported, the first is the Ricci palace in Mopolino di Montereale, the second is a middle-class building, and the third is a rural one. The 1703 earthquake, which affected the upper valley of the Aterno river and the nearby city of L’Aquila, gave rise to an ante litteram anti-seismic culture. Timber was not seen as an obstacle to durability but a material to be exploited to protect buildings from earthquakes.

KEYWORDS:

• casa baraccata
• cultural heritage
• earthquake engineering
• masonry
• timber-framed houses
• traditional dwellings

Disclosure

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ The 2009 L’Aquila earthquake occurred in the region of Abruzzo, in central Italy. The main shock occurred at 03:32 CEST (01:32 UTC) on April 6, 2009, and was rated 5.8 or 5.9 on the Richter magnitude scale and 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale (Gio 1899).

² The luster of the Ricci family descends from the elevation to the papal throne of Cardinal Emilio Altieri (1590–1676) elected Pope with the name of Clement X. Antonio Maria Ricci (−1689) was the brother of Maria Lucrezia, the wife of the newly elected pope Clemente X’s brother. So much was the Pope’s esteem for Antonio Maria Ricci who called him to Rome, made him his maid of honor and gave him the charge of inspector for the streets of Rome. Fourteen years after the death of Antonio Maria Ricci, the devastating 1703 earthquake of L’Aquila occurred, which destroyed the family palace. The family had an anti-seismic building rebuilt in a fraction of Montereale, Mopolino. Today, the Ricci palace has been restored after the 2009 earthquake, bringing to light its beautiful T-F structure. The grandeur of the family will grow again with the poet Angelo Maria Ricci (1776–1850), a friend of Pope Pius VII, who had the Stern designed the façade of the Mopolino of Montereale palace(Treccani 2015).

³ It could be inferred that minor buildings, the T-F middle class ones, besides the same T-F rural constructions have been molded on the Ricci palace, rebuilt in the record time of three years. Consequently, the T-F masonry structures from the upper valley of the Aterno River, are, probably, indirectly inspired by cultural fervour from Naples, which the Ricci family is believed to come from (Treccani 2015). However, these are assumptions guided by logic, given that the local masters have not left or written down testimony of their work.

⁴ baracca s. f. [from the Catalan barraca (probably pre-Roman voice), Spanish]. Temporary construction (Clementi 1998).

⁵ The baraccato of L’Aquila, the baraccato alla beneventana, the baraccato borbonico may are not the sole Italian baraccato typologies. It would be possible that, in other high seismic hazard as well as historical areas, different forms of baraccato are made known to the scientific world.

⁶ The iron nails that sometimes connect the heads of the timber elements have square section and variable length up to 30/40 cm. Their simple in-fixing by hammering would open the wood according to the grain direction, as well as damage the nail itself. In order to prevent damage, two techniques were followed, either an invitation hole made with a manual drill was set up, or the red-hot-heated nail was in-fixed. The nail’s heat guaranteed its in-fixing in the wooden element while the surrounding charred part preserved the nail itself from rust.

⁷ The slenderness ratio, or simply slenderness is the quotient between the width of the wall and its height.

⁸ The in-plane resistance of the masonry panel without the wooden reinforcement is often impaired by the poor quality of the mortar.

⁹ An earthquake, measuring 6.2 ± 0.016 on the moment magnitude scale, hit Central Italy on August 24, 2016 at 03:36:32 CEST (01:36 UTC) (Mach 1992).

¹⁰ The pictures were taken in the upper valley of the river Aterno, about 30 km from the epicenter, where the mentioned T-F structures are present. The Upper Valley of the Aterno river has been declared earthquake zone (zona terremotata), people still live in temporary structures and most of the buildings are unusable.

¹¹ The definition of social class is intended in a purely census sense.

¹² Building’s grandeur is enhanced even more by the contrast with rural buildings of the village where the palace is located, Mopolino of Montereale.

¹³ Raffaele Stern (Rome, 1774–Rome, 1820) was an Italian architect. He worked in the restoration of ancient monuments with works that remained exemplary including the Arch of Titus and the Colosseum. In 1814, Stern obtained the nomination as “Architect of the Palaces of His Holiness,” deserving the friendship of Pope Pius VII, Pope of whom Angelo Maria Ricci was the favourite poet (Treccani 2015; Kang, Yang, and Cha 2011; Langenbach 2008).

¹⁴ The Soprintendenze are peripheral organs of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism (MiBACT) of the Italian Republic, which are entrusted with the protection of the artistic and cultural heritage.

¹⁵ The prevalent use of chestnut timber has been recorded, since chestnut trees are widespread in the area. Their growth is favored by a slightly acid soil overlying a rocky sandstone matrix.

¹⁶ All plasters and coatings have been removed, thus showing clearly the T-F walls.