The role of building morphotypes in rural planning processes

Abstract

In the context of established historical landscapes, it is more important than ever to balance two opposing forces: the increasing push for change, driven by the complex needs of modern society, and the essential protection and conservation of the unique identity of a place, which is safeguarded by Italian law. This paper presents the results of research that develops a broad and comprehensive framework of knowledge regarding the characteristics of the rural building heritage of the historic landscape of the Upper Valdarno in the Tuscan countryside to be preserved. The working method employed established procedures from the Italian tradition of morphotypological studies of the 1980s, updating them to reflect the country’s changing socioeconomic and legislative context. The initial phase involved identifying building morphotypes and the rules that governed their transformations over time. This allowed the reconstruction of the local morphogenetic process and, through a subsequent analysis, the deduction of structural invariants and generative principles. The combination of these elements has made it possible to prepare a classification of the rural buildings, which the public administration will subsequently use as a basis for developing intervention policies.