After the important recognition of the peculiar cultivation of vines “ad alberello” as an intangible heritage of humanity, UNESCO awards Pantelleria for another practice so widespread on the island that it has contributed to give it its current shape: the art of dry stone walling.
All the terracing of the island and also the rural dwellings named dammusi are built by laying the stones one on top of the other, without resorting to other materials except, in some cases, some earth. This knowledge has always been preserved and handed down in rural communities and among construction industry professionals.
To quote the words of UNESCO: ” Such structures testify to the methods and practices used by people from prehistory to today to organize their living and working space by optimizing local natural and human resources. They play a vital role in preventing landslides, floods and avalanches, and in combating erosion and desertification of the land, enhancing biodiversity and creating adequate microclimatic conditions for agriculture “.

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