Old Rustic Filled Houses
The Old Rustic Filled Houses are underground structures carved directly into the yellowish sandstone of Pietragalla, spreading across roughly 2 hectares of uneven land. Their interiors feature elements for wine production, including basins for crushing grapes, niches for lamps, and fermentation chambers with thick stone walls and arched ceilings.
These underground houses developed in the early 1800s as specialized spaces for wine production and storage. The technique of hollowing sandstone spread from southern French regions across Italy, with Puglia and southern areas like Basilicata adopting this method as wine making became central to local life.
The houses reveal how people lived closely together and shaped their daily routines around wine making and farming. These underground spaces were gathering points where families carried out their craft, blending work and home life into a single purpose.
Plan to walk slowly through the scattered structures across the uneven terrain, as the site spreads over considerable ground. Wear comfortable shoes and be prepared for cool, damp conditions inside the underground spaces, which stay consistent year-round regardless of outside weather.
What stands out is that roughly two hundred underground rooms are scattered across the land like a hidden world, with grass and vegetation naturally covering the roofs. Today, events like CantinArte in August draw visitors who can taste local products and even stamp grapes themselves, keeping the old craft alive in a tangible way.
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