Vernacular architecture and archaeological remains. Direct links in the Phlegraean Fields in Campania (Italy)

The paper analyses some vernacular architecture typologies in the Italian region of Campania which are intimately linked to the archaeological remains of the architectures that preceded them. These vernacular architectures have been poles for many centuries for the organization and management of the territory and have contributed to the definition of the historical landscape of the Phlegraean area. The economic and political importance of the Phlegraean territory in Roman times is amply evidenced not only by ancient literary sources, but also by the wide presence of archaeological remains. Alongside the major Roman monuments of Pozzuoli, Cuma and Baia, noble villas, cisterns and funeral buildings have been developed throughout the area of the Phlegraean fields, especially along the Via consularis Puteoli Capuam which connected the flourishing port of Pozzuoli to the city of Capua. It is on these remains that, starting from the sixteenth century, rural farms have been developed often by re-using the archeological remains as foundations for the new buildings or by employing archaeological materials inside the building. This heritage, which is in a state of disuse and abandonment, is not yet fully known and catalogued and constitutes an important example of the local built heritage for the values of the construction tradition, materials and techniques that they preserve. The study is characterized by an interdisciplinary approach and will address the close relationship with the landscape of these settlements, the continuity of use and bioclimatic characteristics and materials which make this heritage a valid reference for sustainability and an ecological way to build and live. The essay will address some emblematic case studies that illustrate the characteristic values of this vernacular architecture, and their state of conservation analysed with respect to their structural instability and degradation in order to identify guidelines for the conservation and enhancement of this rural heritage.