We are used to admiring them for their beauty, but have you ever noticed that there are lots of holes in ancient buildings? Here because.
In every city, especially in the oldest ones of our country, we often find beautiful buildings that have been there for many years. Places that bear witness to our past and the skills of those who preceded us in terms of architecture and urban planning. Some are excellently preserved and have very particular characteristics. Like the one we’re talking about today.
Lots of holes in these ancient buildings
There are several examples of buildings in the oldest streets in Italy that have holes in their facades. And not holes formed over time, but built specifically by those who first took care of the construction of these places.
Lots of holes but they have a specific intent. For starters they have a specific name. It’s about bridge holes, very useful for the construction of the building itself. In ancient times, in fact, we could not use scaffolding as we do today. So these holes were used where the boards were placed.
And these were exactly what they were going to replace modern scaffolding. They were assembled so that even very tall buildings could be built. And they were dismantled only at the end of the process. Of course one might wonder why they were not closed once the work was finished. The reason is simple, because they could have used it again in the future for structural changes and/or maintenance which would certainly have required new scaffolding.
Pontaie and where to find them
This practice of pontaie which seems to date back to ancient times, although for example in the Renaissance era it was preferred to fill them for aesthetic reasons and they ended up disappearing from the facades.
In reality there are still several places where it is possible to find some examples. For example in Southern Italywhere it was decided to leave them exposed and it is still possible to admire them today in the oldest areas of various cities.
If you go to the Montenero area in Tuscany you will find others as well as in the surroundings of Parma. According to architecture experts, the pontaie technique was already known in Roman times, but was mainly widespread in the Middle Ages. Another aspect to take into consideration is how much these holes have become over time a real refuge for birds such as pigeons and swallows.
Let’s therefore say that closing these bridges today would put the survival of some species at risk, as well as altering something that testifies to the great ingenuity of those who came before us.
