Space and Culture

Trulli are beautiful limestone and conical roof houses from the Apulia region of Italy, developed into their current form in the early 17th century. Constructed without mortar, using a corbelling system for added strength, trulli are built as clusters of square stone cells forming rooms, each spanned by a cone, with the most important room having the highest roof.

But here’s the really cool historical bit: “When the king’s tax collectors were due, they could easily be dismantled (and later rebuilt) so that no house tax was demanded.” Wow. Designing for temporary homelessness.

Update: Matt Jones writes: “Maybe anecdotal, but in the south of Italy (Calabria etc) there are homes with rebar coming out of the top, which is to apparently suggest they are not complete even though lower flows are inhabited, in order to avoid taxes.”

Interesting, thanks!