Gli edifici alto e pieno medievali dagli scavi di Piuro. Tipi architettonici e tecniche costruttive

The paper presents an architectural study of the excavated remains at Mot del Castel, reconstructing how the settlement developed between the 8th and 11th centuries. Using the excavation record, it outlines a sequence from an early medieval domestic building—rectangular, two-roomed, with a substantial masonry hearth and mixed construction (stone footings with perishable superstructures)—to later phases marked by increasing reliance on stone and more complex spatial planning. The analysis culminates in the identification of an 11th-century, two-storey casa solariata, inferred from thick load-bearing masonry, room dimensions, and internal supports designed to carry an upper inhabited or reception level. By examining building techniques (stone selection, mortar use, and the relationship between walls and terracing), the study situates Piuro within broader debates on Alpine early medieval residential architecture, noting parallels with elite constructions in the Rhaetian region and nearby castle contexts. Overall, it argues that Mot del Castel hosted not only peasant dwellings but a more articulated, mid-to-high status rural settlement reflecting wider landscape and architectural transformations in the period.