A Stonemasons’ Academy in Puglia and Basilicata
The Landscape Properties Dream Homes masseria building project involves stone masons. A lot of them. In fact, there is a team of about 40 working at any one time, each specialising in a particular technique. They work on one masseria, complete their part, and then move on to the next.
The work is highly skilled and has been passed down over many generations. The vaulted ceilings for example, are made without concrete or cement. The blocks of stone, the local pietra leccese, are carefully cut to ensure the pieces fit together perfectly. The techniques and some of the tools they use are the same ones used by the stonemasons of centuries gone by, who painstakingly carved the details on the many historic palazzi and monuments you see in the towns and villages. And, of course, those used in the original masserie themselves.
Most of the stonemasons are over 50 years old. Some are approaching 80. And theirs is a skill that is dying out. So the Landscape Group decided to do something about it, and created the first ever stonemasons’ academy in southern Italy.
Training Masons
In order to pass on and thus conserve this rare skill, the Landscape team of stonemasons are training up 40 people. It is almost a one for one arrangement, each novice stonemason working with his own maestro. The apprentices are chosen carefully and after a series of interviews. They must have already spent at least three years working with pietra leccese. They must also be from the local area.
Training lasts about a year and is done on the job. They learn how to cut and assemble the stone, how to work without cement, and how to use the specialist equipment. They are between 20 and 50 years old and they appreciate the rare opportunity they have been given. They treat their ‘teachers’ with the reverence and respect due to such highly skilled and experienced craftsmen. And they understand how important it is to continue the area’s stonemasonry tradition.
Every completed masseria is a tribute to all the men who have worked on it. Each is a unique work of art in its own right. And the men who have played a part in bringing it to life are justly proud. Proud of the work they have done, but also proud that they have helped train another generation to carry on this ancient and noble art.
