QR8 THE LATRIN
During the restorations, a discontinuity in the masonry on the second floor in the wall facing north-west, near the north-east corner, similar to a plugged window, was identified. When it was emptied from the filling, it was realised that it was not a window but a niche with a square-section drain in the façade, also constructed, like all the architectural details of the Malavilla, during the construction phase of the fortified house. The bottom of the niche, also visible from the outside, was made of blocks of travertine, a sedimentary stone found in the gullies of Monte Sporno, in the presence of the petrifying springs, rocky outcrops formed by the limestone transported by water.
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This stone was used locally as a substitute for sandstone for those elements that required lightness but also easy workability (they could be modelled with a wood saw) in order to obtain, with less effort, very regular shapes, such as ashlars for loggia arcades or window jamb. In the Malavilla there are other elements made of this material such as the vault of the first floor window facing north-east, or the central logitudinal band of the vault. In other buildings, such as the Rocca di Valle di Castrignano, it was possible to find partition walls composed of wooden uprights attached to the load-bearing beams and infill in travertine blocks. This technology is widespread in France, where the wooden structure is left exposed on the façade (half-timbered houses known as “maison à colombages”).
The latrine seat is completed by a wooden axe, parts of which are still present after the fire that the house is said to have suffered during the 20th century.