VOLUME CXXX1I SEPTEMBER 20, 1927 NUMBER 2529
THE
AMERICAN ARCHITECT
FOUNDED 1876
ITALIAN FARMHOUSES
Passing Notes and Sketches, By Samuel Chamberlain
QUITE as characteristic of the Italian countryside as rolling hills and spiky cedars are the innumerable farmhouses which lend pastelly high-lights to the scene. So densely populated is the country that one is almost never out of sight of a habitation of some sort, even in the wilds of the mountains The character of the farmhouses shifts, of course, with localities and climatic conditions. Some stand, sedate and serene, in protected valleys, revelling in ample window space, terraces and well kept gar
dens. These are the ones which lead you to form an idyllic picture of the Italian farmer’s life. By contrast, there are the meagre stone dwellings in the hills, whose occupants have to slave mightily to draw forth a living from the rocky soil. A different picture indeed. The houses are squat and substantial, huddling against a ledge of rock, a clump of cedars or any protection they can find against the savage winds which sweep the hills. A joyful element is rare in them. Their severe walls are pierced
FARMHOUSE NEAR FUCECCHIO
(,Copyright, 1927, The Architectural & Building Press, Inc.)
THE
AMERICAN ARCHITECT
FOUNDED 1876
ITALIAN FARMHOUSES
Passing Notes and Sketches, By Samuel Chamberlain
QUITE as characteristic of the Italian countryside as rolling hills and spiky cedars are the innumerable farmhouses which lend pastelly high-lights to the scene. So densely populated is the country that one is almost never out of sight of a habitation of some sort, even in the wilds of the mountains The character of the farmhouses shifts, of course, with localities and climatic conditions. Some stand, sedate and serene, in protected valleys, revelling in ample window space, terraces and well kept gar
dens. These are the ones which lead you to form an idyllic picture of the Italian farmer’s life. By contrast, there are the meagre stone dwellings in the hills, whose occupants have to slave mightily to draw forth a living from the rocky soil. A different picture indeed. The houses are squat and substantial, huddling against a ledge of rock, a clump of cedars or any protection they can find against the savage winds which sweep the hills. A joyful element is rare in them. Their severe walls are pierced
FARMHOUSE NEAR FUCECCHIO
(,Copyright, 1927, The Architectural & Building Press, Inc.)