Edilizia minore e turismo sostenibile. Il caso dei Ciabòt di Langa

Rural architecture represents an important part of Italian cultural heritage. Piedmont territories are attracting more and more attention for their potential in terms of sustainable tourism. Within the wine-growing landscapes of the Langhe, already a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the contribution aims to focus attention on small buildings created to support the agricultural activity of farmsteads and rural settlements, which mark the territory in a timely and widespread way: the ciabòt. Testimony of constructive knowledge stratified over time, functional elements and necessary for the performance of agricultural work, once failed the purpose for which they were built, nowadays they are in a state of neglect and degradation. These rural architectures have a homogenous construction type, declined according to different geometries based on the specific function. Within the redevelopment policies for the Langhe, the ciabòt are a key element in terms of territorial marketing. Starting from a survey on their location and relative state of conservation, the contribution aims also to propose general guidelines for their recovery and reconversion.