Z E M C H 2 0 1 2 I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e
360
SPRING SUMMER AUTUMN WINTER
YEAR
TEMPERATURE (°C)
average maximum
22
30
24
15
22,8
average minimum
15
22
17
11
16,2
average daily range
7
8
7
4
RELATIVE HUMIDITY (in %)
average on 7 h
74
70
76
78
74-75
average on 13 h
60
55
64
70
62
COULD COVER DAYS
Clear or almost (0-1
/8)
20
45
24
13
gg. 102
Cloudy (2-3/8)
28
26
24
22
gg. 100
cloudy-variable (4-6)
25
15
25
28
gg. 93
overcast (7-8/8)
19
6
18
27
gg. 70
RAINFALL
precipitation
mm. 130
30
210
230
mm. 600
No. rainy days
16
6
18
22
tot. 62
PREVALENT WINDS
northwesterly (
Maestrale
) - westerly (
Ponente
) – southeasterly (
Scirocco
)
Figure 2: climatic conditions.
The Aeolian house of Filicudi
The Filicudian houses are organized on two levels
, in general for two independent
homes; the staircase is outdoors. The rooms are very large, squared and directly
connected without a corridor ; they are situated along two parallel lines, so the building
has a quite regular volume, with two fronts: generally, one to south and another one to
north.
A large terrace (called in local dialect
bagghio
, from the Arabic world
bahah
for court) is
set up in the front of the house, while at the back there is a little yard. In the past the
front terrace was also used as the secondary work on the rural products, it ends with a
masonry seat (the
bisolo
); its back is the parapet of the terrace. Sometimes, especially
for the two level houses, the bagghio is covered by a porticos; its roof forms the terrace
of the upper level.
The volcanic nature of the Aeolian islands
makes them particularly exposed to
earthquakes and strongly influences the masonry type. In response to this circumstance
the local builders have set up a really efficient construction system: with vertical
elements that are firm and strong and horizontal elements that are light and flexible.
The masonry is composed of rough, basaltic stones. The edges of the building are built
with squared stones, bigger and denser, to have a firmer construction. The walls are 60
cm thick, in the ground floor, and 50 cm in the upper one.
The roofs are framed with a series of wooden beams, diameter 15 cm and spaced by 50
cm, that are inserted in the wall for two thirds of its thickness, after pitching their ends to
6
The mention of the famous expression of Le Corbuser is obviously a provocation, in fact the French-
Helvetic Master intended it in a totally different way.
7
The Aeolian house is generally on one or two levels. The first is more recurrent in the flat areas, the second
is typical of hilly ones, as occurs in Filicudi.
8
Filicudi in particular is the remaining part of a volcano that subsided back to the bottom of the sea.
