THE PIGEONHOLE AND THE GALLERY HYPOTHESIS
ITA
ENG
Generally, the tower-house and the house-fort have holes through which the pigeons can reach the nests from inside the house. In the case of the Malavilla, an unusual feature became apparent during the restoration work, namely that most of the holes are actually only accessible from the outside. How to reach them at a height of eight metres? As restoration work continued, on the outside of the masonry in the north-west-facing corner at the level of the wooden floor, it was possible to identify 45° holes, which most likely held brackets for a wooden balcony. This feature explains the problem of access to the pigeon holes, and is also a further confirmation of the building's defensive function: in fact, by going out of the window with the seats it was possible to access part of the gallery and use it as a patrol to monitor the territory. This is of course a hypothesis, but a plausible one, also confirmed by comparison with other examples of a similar type, both in the area (house in the centre of Calestano) and in other European countries (Spain). This type of construction was in fact widespread throughout Europe, a sign of the great importance of the economy linked to pigeon breeding.
This element has been re-proposed in the restoration, albeit in a stylised, partial manner and without wishing to forcibly recreate conditions that have now been lost, in order to help the reading of ci
​