Sotto la buccia della terra. Mito, forma, immaginario e percezione delle architetture scavate nel deserto tra tradizione e attualità

This paper investigates the ancient architectural tradition of excavated and underground spaces capable of accommodating and making life possible in extreme climatic conditions. The vertical pit houses of Matmata or the horizontal cliff houses of Chenini provide some interesting ideas for reflecting on settlement models which, although in an abstract form and on a totally different scale, have become the reference for some contemporary underground architectures, building a symbiotic bond with the desert environment that generates them, and interpreting in a renewed form the relationship between nature and artifacts.