Pinnettas: Traditional Shepherds’ Huts of Sardinia. Geometry, Shape and Materials

The present contribution shows a summary of the results achieved during a research on traditional architecture of Sardinia. It analyzes the construction technique, architectural and landscape features of the pinnettas, the traditional shepherds’ huts. The rural landscape studied still preserves several examples of this architecture, some of which still in use and characterized by constructive models that employ different materials and different technical solutions. The investigation also found a prevalent use of a model widely used in the Mediterranean that, set on a truncated cone shape, realize a dome (tholos) that recalls - with extraordinary typological continuity - the ancient Nuragic construction, fitting harmoniously into the landscape. A lot of these buildings are precarious and that drove the choice of a survey’s methodology that could integrate traditional procedures and computer technology characterized by expeditious quick data acquisition process.