Architecture of Langa
The person who goes through the langhe for the first time will see, observing little villages, many houses more or less isolated with unique caracteristics if compared to others italian region. They are Langa’s Houses, the leading character of rural life, houses that always had to fight for a place on the most sunny slopes.
The house of Langa (Farm) is built with the quintessential materials of this land. The stone often found during the tillage of fields, is always an important decorative element such as baked clay artisan bricks.mud is used as cement.
Also the division of “house of langa” is suitable for the work of our rustic culture. So we have the cowshed adjacent the habitation, the Portì (Porch) for sheltering tools and fire wood, the well, the wine-cellar and the oven.
The typical rural house expands in two ways.
The rectangular plan building or with a geometrical formation “L” or “U” where habitation, cowshed and hay-loft coexist or the separated blocks building.
They are often divided in two sectors the two level house with an inner central staircase and the agricultural-productive area with the hay-loft laid upon the cowshed; wood was used for the roof’s construction as for attics, windows and doors. Even today we can see brick-arches, entrance-halls ceilings and fine brick-works which time didn’t change.
“… si andava in festa alla Madonna di agosto, quando venivano i suonatori; e che a battere il grano, a sfogliare, a raccogliere l’uva, c’era da bere e da parlare a volontà, in tutte le Cascine.”
(Cesare Pavese)