In Salento, the courtyard house stands out as a typical peasant dwelling, characterized by an open space, both common and private, with direct access from the street and surrounded by one or more housing units. This recurring housing model in the Salento area originates from a basic module, usually a single rectangular room, positioned centrally within a lot and adjacent on one side, creating a corridor that connects the courtyard in front to the rear part intended for the vegetable garden.

The external spaces have a predominant importance compared to the internal ones. Although the vegetable garden was essential for the cultivation of the products necessary for the family, it is the courtyard that constitutes the heart of the house, conceived as a multifunctional environment used for work, storage, shelter for working animals and above all as a place for socializing, entertainment and leisure.

 

The origin

This housing model represents an evolution of the hut with a courtyard in front, initially poor single-cell constructions that later developed into “multi-cellular”.

The origins of this particular building typology, commonly known as a courtyard house, are determined by several factors. It is a housing system that derives both from climatic and physical factors linked to the exploitation of the land, and from historical events that have left deep marks in this region. However, it is difficult to establish which of the two factors played a predominant role in its birth. It is likely that both contributed, together with the family organization, to determine the development of this particular housing form.

 

Evolution

In large centers, where economic conditions were less precarious, the basic typology of the courtyard house with a fence in front was joined by a more complex typology with more advanced space distributions.

In the evolution of this housing model, the living spaces were always raised above the ground and covered by barrel vaults, while the lower floors were used as cellars, stables, storage rooms and woodsheds.

The entrance to the open space of the courtyard is preceded by a covered carriage room called ‘sappuertu’ or ‘simportu’, large enough to contain the farm cart, the manger for the horse, the washing basin, the well and the cistern for drawing water. This room allowed the inhabitants of the courtyard, especially women, to gather to converse, sew, socialize, do the laundry or transform the products of the countryside.

Compared to the original model, the courtyards were enriched with a new element: the staircase. Made of stone and incorporated into the buildings, the staircase was only present in the upper part, so it was necessary to add a ladder to lean against the walls. This prevented outsiders from accessing the terraces, often used to dry food.

The staircase became a qualifying element, with massive round arches and several ramps that created surprising effects, representing an architectural element of connection between the privacy of the courtyard and the public road. Furthermore, in addition to accessing the terraces or the homes, the staircase also led to a typical architectural element of Salento: the mignano.

This element, a stage suspended above the driveway of the courtyard house, overlooked both the public road and the courtyard itself. The mignano, located a short distance from the arch of the entrance door, consisted of balconies supported by sturdy decorated brackets, often occupying the entire facade on the street.

The mignano, a legacy of ancient suspended stages or loggias, found its natural application especially in the Salento area, where the process of Byzantinization influenced culture and art. It allowed women to participate discreetly in the life of the city, offering an observation point without being seen.

 

Construction techniques and materials

Poor-quality materials and rudimentary construction techniques have accelerated the physical deterioration of the courtyard house, complicating its restoration and maintenance.

The facade of the house is extremely simple, with a gable that follows the slope of the gabled roof, where the channels for draining rainwater are located, usually made with limestone blocks arranged in parallel to adapt to the different levels of the roofs. Rainwater was then collected in enormous cisterns.

The facades of all the housing units, usually painted white, face the large open space of the courtyard uniformly, without highlighting the boundaries of the different families. The white walls, treated with lime, accentuate the contrasts and reflect the light.

The various wall structures and the roofs of the rooms also reveal the different eras in which the various cells were built. The more recently built rooms have vaults resting on sturdy pillars, while the original cells show the classic roofs with tiles.

The roof was made of a sub-base of reeds supported by wooden beams and covered with gabled tiles. Reeds were an ancient technique for creating sound-absorbent ceilings and roofs that were structurally robust and flexible at the same time.

As for the interior floors, they were made with slabs of very compact limestone, known as “chianche” (Cursi stone).

 

Structure and furnishings

The family nucleus resided in the simple courtyard house, consisting of a single room. A crucial element, located in the kitchen, was the fireplace with its smokestack, which not only represented the home fire, but also a symbol of family unity. Usually placed next to the entrance door, the fireplace was of considerable size, with a large base and an architrave decorated with floral motifs in bas-relief, becoming the main decorative element of the house.

The kitchen also served as a living room and workroom, as well as to welcome visitors. The beds, sometimes stacked during the day to save space, could be placed behind a recess in the wall. The bed plank was kept raised from the floor to allow the storage of agricultural supplies underneath it.

The door leading to the courtyard had a wooden frame and a circular hole at the bottom for the cat to pass through, while a window allowed natural lighting and ventilation. In the external garden, various domestic activities took place, such as grinding wheat, washing clothes, getting water from the well and drying agricultural products.

In the open space of the courtyard, there were accessories common to all families, such as the water cistern, the wash house called “pila” and the stone seats for summer evenings. Circular stone covers indicated the presence of dry wells called “fogge”, used to store wheat and cereals. Another element, although no longer in use, was the stompo, a cylindrical stone mortar for pounding durum wheat. Finally, the oven for baking bread was rarely present in the courtyard, since bread was generally baked in rustic ovens for public use.

 

Types of courtyard houses in Salento

The different types of courtyards in Salento reflect the variety and complexity of rural dwellings in the region. The most common is the “closed courtyard”, characterized by a single main entrance, a round-arched door, often equipped with a double-leaf wooden frame, which completely separates the courtyard space from the street. Other configurations include:

– “Open courtyard houses”, which form real urban complexes.

– “Private courtyards”, inhabited by a single family, often more affluent.

Looking more closely at closed courtyards, two main variants can be distinguished. The first type, more archaic, is mainly found south of Lecce, in areas where cereal agriculture dominated the economy and daily life. The second type is more complex and is typical of larger centers, where living conditions were better. Here, the rooms were higher and covered by vaults, while the lower floors were used as basements, cellars or stables. In these courtyards, staircases with several flights and the characteristic “mignani” often appear.

In Grecìa Salentina, especially in Martano, there are examples of courtyard houses similar to the Greek ones, with the courtyard in the center and the houses, stables and warehouses that overlook it. In some streets of Martano, as well as in the centers of Castignano dei Greci and Martignano, there are two residential cells of different sizes, side by side in the same courtyard, following the common pattern of “multi-family” houses. A notable example is the “Corte Grande” in Martano, with two primary cells arranged next to each other, which close two original uncovered passages

In Vernole, an entire neighborhood is made up of adjacent residential cells, with a front fence and a rear garden. This complex represents one of the most significant examples of Salento construction, with 51 family units ranging from the largest to the smallest families.

 

The role of the courtyard house

The courtyard house mainly serves the function of being a meeting and socialization point for the family. It is a clear example of how an element of aggregation is used collectively to guarantee survival resources, and is therefore respected and protected.

In addition to satisfying material needs, providing access to resources such as the well, the mill and the granary, the courtyard also responds to emotional needs. After a day of hard work in the fields, family members gather in the courtyard to tell stories, listen and socialize, thus trying to escape the isolation that characterizes rural life. It thus became a point of reference for families of the same social class, often united by kinship ties, gathering around the well and sharing daily activities, discussions and moments of meeting. Furthermore, the need for reunion between families arises from the desire to protect themselves from the dangers of the countryside and malaria, and to establish important social relationships for the recruitment of laborers in local markets.

 

 

The contemporary courtyard house

The courtyard house has recently been reinterpreted, highlighting a renewed interest in the enclosed domestic space. The courtyard, a symbol of individual isolation, represents a delimited portion of the territory, with its main facade facing inward and the external walls taking on a secondary role. The courtyard is not a completely open space, but rather a representative area with a large opening in the roof for ventilation and lighting.

The architecture of these homes seems to respond to the need to survive the anonymity and frenzy of modern metropolises. In recent years, the courtyard house structure has also been adopted in large urban agglomerations. The typical layout includes a central courtyard with balconies overlooking the internal walls, facilitating access to the housing units. However, the fundamental human characteristic is socialization, and in an age in which technology can lead to emotional distance, courtyard houses offer an opportunity for meeting and dialogue. The common spaces allow the inhabitants to interact, starting with a simple greeting that can evolve into a conversation and mutual knowledge.