BUILDINGS AND LAND FOR ENOGASTRONOMY

Academic Year 2026/2027 - Teacher: PROVVIDENZA RITA D'URSO

Expected Learning Outcomes

Food and wine culture and the territory are essential resources for the enhancement of local areas, also for tourism purposes, and for the competitiveness of the organizations connected to them. Discussing landscapes, territories and food and wine systems therefore means understanding the meaning and nature of the interaction between supply chains and the natural and human resources that, over time, contribute to shaping the perception and identity of such areas.

Knowledge and understanding:

Students will acquire knowledge of the main construction materials, their physical properties and methods of use; the systems and construction elements of buildings; the design, construction and spatial organization characteristics of traditional rural buildings reused for agritourism and rural tourism activities, as well as buildings intended for the processing and transformation of agricultural products. Students will also acquire knowledge of the evolution of the landscape and of the relationships between rural buildings, production activities and the territory.

Applying knowledge and understanding:

Students will be able to identify and interpret the constructional and functional elements of a building, assess its main technical and spatial characteristics, and analyse the organization of indoor and outdoor spaces in relation to the requirements of production processes. They will also be able to apply the acquired knowledge to the analysis of rural and agro-industrial buildings and to issues related to their rehabilitation and reuse.

Making judgements:

Students will be able to critically assess the constructional, functional and spatial characteristics of rural and agro-industrial buildings, identifying their critical issues and potential for rehabilitation and reuse in relation to the territorial and landscape context.

Communication skills:

Students will be able to use the technical terminology of the discipline appropriately and to describe and represent the main constructional, functional and spatial characteristics of buildings.

Learning skills:

Students will develop the ability to independently deepen their knowledge of topics related to rural buildings, the rehabilitation of the built heritage, and the relationships between buildings, production activities and the territory, through the use of technical literature, regulations, and scientific and teaching materials.

Contribution of the course to the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Goal 2. Zero Hunger

Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, help maintain ecosystems, strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters, and progressively improve land and soil quality.

Goal 4. Quality Education

Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.

Goal 12. Responsible Consumption and Production

Target 12.b: Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products.

Course Structure

Lectures (21 hours) and exercises (42 hours).

If teaching is given in a mixed formula or remotely, necessary changes may be introduced to what was previously stated in order to comply with the provided and reported syllabus.

Required Prerequisites

No essential prior knowledge is required, and there are no formal prerequisites.

Attendance of Lessons

Attending classes is not mandatory but is strongly recommended, as it facilitates the learning process and contributes to the full achievement of the course learning objectives. Attendance will be recorded during the course for statistical purposes and for course evaluation.

Detailed Course Content

The course is structured into thematic modules:

1. Introduction: Buildings and territory; rehabilitation of rural architecture; landscape conservation.

2. Technical drawing and representation: fundamentals of technical drawing; standards and graphic conventions in the different fields of technical representation; exercises aimed at reading, interpreting and critically assessing design drawings related to rural buildings.

3. The building system: components of the building system and their mutual relationships; structural system and building envelope.

4. Building deterioration and structural distress: main causes of deterioration in rural buildings; types of moisture-related decay, including construction moisture, rising damp, penetrating damp and condensation; main causes of structural distress in rural buildings; crushing failure; combined axial compression and bending; introductory elements of diagnostic investigations.

5. Rural architecture: definition of rural architecture and rural buildings; abandonment processes and their consequences; typological features of rural architecture in the local context; wineries, dairies and olive oil mills: design, organizational, spatial, technological and architectural aspects of the main facilities for the processing and transformation of agricultural products.

6. Rehabilitation and functional reuse of traditional rural buildings: overview of the regulatory framework for the rehabilitation and reuse of rural buildings, with particular reference to functional conversion for agritourism purposes; analysis of methods and tools for identifying compatible new uses in relation to existing buildings and their territorial context; examples of rehabilitation design interventions.

7. Landscape and buildings: historical evolution of the concept of landscape; regulatory framework and the European Landscape Convention; anthropogenic and natural components of the landscape; interactions between territory and landscape; human–landscape relationships; the concept of adaptive rehabilitation of rural buildings as a tool for landscape conservation.

Textbook Information

1) L. Caleca “Architettura tecnica”, Flaccovio Editore, 2005

2) R. Chiumenti “Costruzioni rurali”, Edagricole, 2004

3) Cascone G., Lanteri P. - Analisi progettuale degli edifici per la produzione dell'olio d'oliva in Sicilia - Tecnica Agricola 1990

4) CASCONE S., PORTO S.M.C. 2008. Valutazione della potenzialità di riuso del patrimonio architettonico rurale e definizione di criteri e metodi innovativi per gli interventi di recupero. Il lunario. Enna.

5) Maniglio Calcagno A., (2006). Architettura del paesaggio. Evoluzione storica. FrancoAngeli ed., Milano.

Course Planning

	Subjects	Text References
1	Introduction: The link between buildings and territory, the possibility of rehabilitating and reusing rural building and the preservation of the landscape.
2	“Drawing and Representation”: basic elements of technical drawing.
3	“Building Components”: different systems of building constructions, materials, structural system and building envelope. Methods for typological, functional and structural characterization of rural architecture. Traditional building materials: stone, wood, mortar, plaster, and concrete. Main architectural elements of traditional rural building: flat horizontal closures (basic floors, intermediate floors and roofs), curved horizontal closures (load-bearing structures and not load-bearing structures), slanting horizontal closures, load-bearing vertical closures and internal partition systems, stairs.
4	“Traditional rural building”: Diagnosis of degradation and instability of traditional rural buildings. Consolidation of main architectural elements.
5	“Rural architecture”: Definition of rural architecture; Overview of the main types of traditional rural architecture. Methods for typological, functional and structural characterization of rural architecture.
6	“Building re-use and rehabilitation”: Overview on the legal framework for the rehabilitation and re-use of rural buildings, Methods and tools for determining the most adequate re-use which is compatible with the existing buildings and the local context in which they are located, example of suitable re-use compatible with the existing building.
7	“Landscape and rural building”: Background. Reference standards and the European Landscape Convention. The link landscape-territory; Landscape: anthropic and natural; the relationship man-landscape; the dynamic recovery of the traditional rural buildings; the landscape preservation.

Learning Assessment

Learning Assessment Procedures

Learning outcomes will be assessed through an oral examination. The assessment will take into account the relevance of the answers to the questions asked, the level of in-depth knowledge of the topics, and the ability to establish connections among the different topics covered in the course. Learning assessment may also be carried out online, should circumstances require it. To ensure equal opportunities and in compliance with current legislation, students may request an individual meeting in order to plan any compensatory and/or dispensatory measures, based on the learning objectives and their specific needs. Students may also contact the Department’s CInAP referring professor (Centre for Active and Participatory Integration — Services for Students with Disabilities and/or Specific Learning Disorders) (https://www.cinap.unict.it/content/referenti)

The evaluation follows the following scheme:

Fail

Knowledge and understanding of the topic: major shortcomings; significant inaccuracies.
Ability to analyse and synthesize: inadequate; frequent generalizations; inability to synthesize information.
Use of references: completely inappropriate.

18–20

Knowledge and understanding of the topic: threshold-level knowledge, with evident shortcomings.
Ability to analyse and synthesize: barely adequate.
Use of references: barely appropriate.

21–23

Knowledge and understanding of the topic: basic and routine knowledge.
Ability to analyse and synthesize: able to perform correct analysis and synthesis; arguments are presented in a logical and coherent manner.
Use of references: use of standard references.

24–26

Knowledge and understanding of the topic: good knowledge.
Ability to analyse and synthesize: good analytical and synthesis skills; arguments are presented coherently.
Use of references: use of standard references.

27–29

Knowledge and understanding of the topic: very good knowledge.
Ability to analyse and synthesize: considerable analytical and synthesis skills.
Use of references: topics have been explored in depth.

30–30 with honours

Knowledge and understanding of the topic: excellent knowledge.
Ability to analyse and synthesize: excellent analytical and synthesis skills.
Use of references: significant in-depth study and further insights.

Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises

Structural elements
Building materials
The building organism and its constituent systems
Types of dampness and diagnostic methods
Functional needs and performance requirements of buildings (olive oil mills, dairies and wineries)
Layout of indoor and outdoor spaces
Dimensional and environmental requirements of indoor and outdoor spaces in wineries, olive oil mills and dairies
Regulatory tools for the rehabilitation of traditional rural buildings
Building–territory relationships
Differences in traditional rural architecture in relation to the territorial context

Degree Course in

Viticulture, Oenology and Oenomarketing