1 - In this area I can catch a glimpse of some small buildings camouflaged in the vegetation, they aren’t used nowadays. They must be the “casote”, which the sign far down was talking about.

Do they really exist only in this area?

 

Yes, the “casote” are absolutely local buildings, you can see them in these mountains and nowhere else, they are situated among the areas of Valmadrera, Civate, Suello, some of them in Mount Barro and Resinelli too. They have been studied by ethnographers.

 

2 - A question arises: “Did the farmers use them just as a storehouse and shelter from the rain, or did they live there as well?”

 

The farmers used to live there when they had to work hard so that they didn’t need to go home at nightfall. They used oil lamps and faggots of wood to protect themselves from the wind and to try to close the door and the few windows.

 

3 - But if they used to sleep inside, how could they avoid seepages of water? There is grass on some of their roofs!

 

The experience of the farmers had handed on a technique, they put one stone on another with an outward inclination, so that they could avoid seepages of water. The grass on the roof soaks up water and this was even safer. If you think that the “casote” go back to 1800, you can understand how advanced was the farmers’ ability.

 

4 - If I were an architect or a designer, I would become keen on this subject!

 

On the website you can find a lot of explanations and curiosities about the design of these buildings and about their use over the years.

 

I hope you’ll enjoy the rest of your walk!