From architecture to the landscape. A casket in which the sedimentary layers of collective conscience are deposited

This paper is the result of research undertaken in the territory of the Molise region that aims to link the buildings of greatest historical and architectural value through the thread of knowledge, independently of their original or present functions, of the period, the construction materials and state of preservation. The aim is to identify and catalogue such buildings in order to facilitate programmes of restoration and conservation and save them from the negligence of their owners, from the destructive force of weathering and from improper reuse, thus also safeguarding the history and culture of Molise; but also to stimulate new itineraries for the purposes of tourism. For the research in the field, it was decided to use the transhumance routes crossing the region from north to south as a ‘lines of enquiry’. We identified and mapped the buildings in question along these channels of knowledge and documented their state both graphically and with photographs. Next, archive materials were studied, and then work was done on understanding the formal, distributive, structural and technological aspects. Lastly, when the cultural matrices that had generated the buildings were clear, they were catalogued. The research undertaken to date has catalogued a good number of buildings, some of which had no graphic documentation and so specific surveys were carried out in these cases. The framework for these varied buildings, the links with the territory and more generally their spatial-temporal collocation constitute the object of this ongoing research.