Protection and reuse of a forgotten heritage: the Parmesan cheese buildings. Notes for a widespread museum in the lower Reggio Emilia plain
- Autores: Stefania Varvaro
- Localización: Vernacular Heritage: Culture, People and Sustainability: Heritage 2022 International Conference / coord. por Camilla Mileto, Fernando Vegas López-Manzanares, Valentina Cristini, Lidia García Soriano, 2022, ISBN 978-84-1396-020-3, págs. 1085-1092
- Idioma: inglés
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Resumen
The content of this proposal is a reflection on the landscape of the low Reggio Emilia plain and on the material traces still present in the area linked to the artisanal production of Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan) cheese dating back to the 1700s and 1800s. We refer, in particular, to the agricultural system related to the production of forage and high quality grass to obtain the so-called “white gold”, i.e., milk—the raw material for making cheese—and to the architectural buildings used for artisanal dairy production. These structures, called caselli, are much more numerous in the province of Reggio Emilia (the “Dairy Register” of 1911 lists 711 caselli), compared to Parma and Modena, despite the fact that Parmigiano Reggiano has always characterized the economy of all of these areas. This kind of architecture is characterized by buildings of reduced proportions with a central, square or polygonal plan, structurally set on a central pillar around which the processing phases of the cheese production were organized. With perimeters of the buildings defined by brick walls, which bear weight on the edges, and characterized by a light and ventilation system, known as gelosie or “jalousies” paneling on the sides, they are an embodiment of valuable constructive knowledge. The brick-grid infills, or “jalousies”, designed to calibrate air and light, become essential components for the production of cheese. Starting from the idea of a widespread museum in the area, related to H. de Varine’s thought on the ecomuseum, some design guidelines are established for the enhancement of this production tradition and its agricultural landscape. The rapid evolution of dairy technology on the one hand, and the changes in the territory on the other, have compromised the interpretation of a system that in the tradition of knowledge, techniques and materials had characterized a territory for at least two centuries.