Future and resilience: vernacular dry stone - balancing conservation, innovation and sustainability - (in corso di stampa)

Vernacular dry-stone architecture — structures built without binders, using only local stones arranged according to empirical rules — represents one of the most resilient and low-impact building systems developed by human societies. Widespread throughout Mediterranean Europe and other regions rich in stone, this technique incorporates geological knowledge, an understanding of the landscape and community-based working practices passed down orally from generation to generation. For centuries, it has supported agriculture, water management and settlement in marginal environments. In the 21st century, dry stone walling is undergoing a conceptual repositioning. No longer regarded merely as a residual or folkloric practice linked to rural decline, it is now interpreted as a strategic resource for tackling climate change, land consumption, biodiversity loss and the homogenisation of the landscape. Its fundamental attributes — the use of local materials, zero-emission construction, reversibility, permeability and adaptability — align with current debates on sustainable architecture and territorial resilience. This article adopts a multidisciplinary approach to analyse the past, present and future of vernacular dry-stone construction. After defining its technical principles and historical spread, it examines current threats, including rural depopulation, the loss of craft skills, regulatory gaps and extreme weather events. The town of Alberobello in Puglia is discussed as a living laboratory where dry-stone construction has shaped not only building types such as the trullo, but also an entire urban water collection system. The article concludes by proposing tools for protection and enhancement, pathways for innovation and three possible future scenarios: passive conservation, active regeneration and technical-design revitalisation. The central thesis is that the future of dry stone lies not in turning it into a museum piece, but in a critical reinterpretation that integrates traditional knowledge with contemporary design, ecological engineering, digital documentation and community stewardship.