The Technology of Camorcanna Vaults: Examples of Use in Palaces and Villas in the Este Territory in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century

The research investigates the constructive technique of “plaster and reeds” vaults, consisting in wooden centrings which a plaster support is attached to. Starting from a careful study of its specific application in the wide camorcanna complex in the Rocca in Spilamberto (Modena), dated back to 1660, the study is extended to other similar examples in the dukedom of Este between the second half of the 17th and the 18th century. The comparison has introduced useful information about the historical evolution of the Rocca, coherent to the previous datation. Moreover, the research can be considered as the first step of a more extended and systematic study of this construction technique, firstly in the same cultural and political area, and secondly in a wider territory to investigate it in its historical and chronological meanings.