#parcodeipalmentidipietragalla

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Parco dei Palmenti Italy is a country with heritage stretching from pre-Roman times, through all of history, to the modern day. One small slice of that history is ‘Parco dei Palmenti’, Pietragalla. This park was built to create wine - be still my beating heart. Italy might be known for its many vineyards but ‘Parco dei Palmenti’ is special. The ‘Palmenti’, or millstones, are stone houses built to transform grapes into “must” (juice) and then into wine. In Pietragalla, Basilicata, a region in the south of Italy, the ‘Palmenti’ are carved directly into the stone and covered with grass, forming a stunning park landscape. These small buildings appear to emerge from the grass. The houses are simple hollows and once down in between the hollows, you see doors and behind the doors, stone rooms with the right humidity to create one of the products southern Italy is most famous for. The ‘Palmenti’ date back to the sixteenth century when the French invaded Italy, what remains of the invasion is the ‘Palmenti’ the French left behind. These structures remained in use until the early twentieth century, some are even still used today. The ‘Parco Urbano dei Palmenti’ is open to visitors. All hail wine. #neonurchin #neonurchinblog #dedicatedtothethingswelove #suzyurchin #ollyurchin #art #music #photography #fashion #film #design #words #pictures #lucanian #southernitaly #sustainableenergy #fermentation #must #wineproduction #stonestructure #palmenti #parcodeipalmentidipietragalla #parcourbanodeipalmenti (at Parco Urbano dei Palmenti Pietragalla) https://www.instagram.com/p/CeQZgbAohM6/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Parco dei Palmenti ‘Palmenti’ are one of the most important and famous scenic elements of Pietragalla. ‘Palmenti’ are also unique in the Lucanian panorama - and perhaps in Italy. These small buildings, which at first look may seem like houses or caves, actually represented the core of the working and social life of Pietragalla people up to 50 - 60 years ago. Their purpose was linked to the production of wine. It was here the first processing and fermentation of grapes from vineyards scattered throughout the territory, took place. Now there are just over 60 left and almost all of them are located in the ‘Parco Urbano dei Palmenti’ at the eastern entrance of the town. It is possible to find some scattered here and there in the surrounding countryside. In the past there were certainly more of them, demonstrating a flourishing wine-growing activity that has now been lost along with most of the vineyards. Say it ain’t so (sad face). #neonurchin #neonurchinblog #dedicatedtothethingswelove #suzyurchin #ollyurchin #art #music #photography #fashion #film #design #words #pictures #lucanian #southernitaly #sustainableenergy #fermentation #must #wineproduction #stonestructure #palmenti #parcodeipalmentidipietragalla #parcourbanodeipalmenti (at Parco Urbano dei Palmenti Pietragalla) https://www.instagram.com/p/CeQZaDnI2ux/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Parco dei Palmenti These little stone structures found in ‘Parco dei Palmenti’ are wondrous enough but they served an important part in Southern Italy’s past. The ‘Palmenti' are wine caves. Here comes the science bit … how did these ‘Palmenti’ work? First of all these structures were not placed at random and there are two reasons for that. One: the ‘Palmenti’ were used to ferment grapes. The fermenting process is a chemical reaction carried out by living beings (yeasts) that work especially well at specific temperatures. To reach the right temperature (>20°C) - as there was no heating source at his time - something had to be invented. This region in Italy had already experimented with the isolating properties of rock, why not use the emerging rocks from the landscape to build sustainable fermentation rooms? Even better, rocky formations were not lacking in Pietragalla. Two: how to “increase” the temperature inside the ‘Palmenti’? Simple, exploit the biggest and cheapest heat source there is - the Sun. By choosing a rock mass that takes advantage of the south/south-east orientation of the sun - the ‘Palmenti' guaranteed a maximum inflow of solar energy during the day. So this is where (and why) the ‘Palmenti’ were built. In addition all the entrances to the ‘Palmenti’ face the same orientation. Energetic sustainability. Magic, really. #neonurchin #neonurchinblog #dedicatedtothethingswelove #suzyurchin #ollyurchin #art #music #photography #fashion #film #design #words #pictures #lucanian #southernitaly #sustainableenergy #fermentation #must #wineproduction #stonestructure #palmenti #parcodeipalmentidipietragalla #parcourbanodeipalmenti (at Parco Urbano dei Palmenti Pietragalla) https://www.instagram.com/p/CeQZTZ9Iooe/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=