The agricultural terraces of western Liguria are among the most intensive examples of hand-built landscape modification in Europe. Known locally as fasce (singular: fascia) or maixei, they cover tens of thousands of hectares across steep coastal hillsides that descend from 600–700 metres down to the sea. On gradients of 30 to 40 degrees, the only viable method of creating a cultivable surface is a retaining wall built without mortar from whatever stone the slope itself provides.
What the Term "Dry-Stone" Means in This Context
Dry-stone construction – muro a secco in Italian – refers specifically to masonry in which no binding material is used between courses of stone. The wall holds together through the mechanical interlock of shaped or selected stones, the friction between their faces, and careful attention to the distribution of load. In the Ligurian terracing tradition, the stone is almost entirely local schist and limestone, selected directly from the ground being cleared for cultivation.
The absence of mortar is not a compromise. On a slope that moves seasonally, a rigid mortared wall would crack when the hillside settles after winter rain. A dry-stone wall can flex slightly, redistribute stress across individual stones, and drain freely – the same properties that make it vulnerable to collapse when poorly maintained also make it functional in ways that cement cannot replicate.
The Construction Sequence
Documentary and oral-history research, consolidated in CNR publications and reviewed in the context of the 2018 UNESCO inscription, identifies a consistent construction procedure that specialized teams followed across different parts of Liguria:
1. Foundation and water-regulation embankment
Before any terrace surface was formed, teams constructed a lower embankment called a maxee (derived from Latin maceria, meaning a stone wall or boundary). This regulated water runoff from above and provided the structural base from which the main retaining wall would rise. The maxee was set directly on bedrock or on compacted subsoil wherever possible.
2. Stone-soil separation
Excavated material from the slope was passed through coarse sieves. Stones above a minimum size threshold were set aside for wall construction and for a drainage layer immediately behind the wall face. Sifted earth – typically silty and slightly clayey – was reserved for the cultivable layer, which was built up to approximately 50 cm in depth.
3. Wall construction and inclination
The retaining wall was built with a deliberate backward lean into the hillside, typically 5 to 10 degrees from vertical. This inclination serves two related purposes: it transfers part of the soil pressure into the slope rather than perpendicular to the wall face, and it positions the centre of gravity of the wall mass within the footing rather than at its outer edge. Wall heights ran from 1.5 to 3 metres, with terrace widths of 3 to 5 metres between successive walls.
The wall face was constructed with larger, more regular stones at the base. Smaller irregular stones filled the core. No single large stone was placed without a corresponding counterbalance on the opposite side of the wall – a principle passed between workers by demonstration rather than instruction.
4. Drainage layer
Immediately behind the wall face, a layer of coarse unsifted stone – approximately 20 to 30 cm thick – was placed before the cultivable soil was added. This layer allowed percolating rainwater to flow freely downward and exit through gaps between the face stones at the base of the wall, preventing the hydraulic pressure buildup that causes most dry-stone wall failures.
"The wall inclined itself toward the mountain; it was not that it leaned there – it was built that way from the first stone."
– Oral account recorded by CNR researchers, Ponente Ligure
Labor Organisation
The construction of Ligurian terraces was not individual work. Historical records from the French administrative period (early 19th century) and regional agricultural surveys from the 1880s describe specialized teams of muratori a secco – dry-stone wallers who moved between properties under seasonal contracts. These teams had a defined internal hierarchy: the master waller selected and placed the face stones; assistants handled material supply and the drainage layer; apprentices managed the sifting and soil transport.
The major expansion of terracing in western Liguria – specifically the Ponente region – occurred between the period of French domination and the 1860s, tracking the peak market demand for Ligurian olive oil and dried fruit. CNR research on the Intemelian Riviera (the area around Ventimiglia) identifies this period as when most of the surviving terrace stock was built or substantially reconstructed.
Why Walls Fail
Dry-stone terrace walls fail for three primary reasons, all of which are well-documented in post-war surveys of abandoned agricultural land in Liguria:
- Loss of the drainage layer. When the drainage stone behind the wall face becomes clogged with fine sediment – typically after decades without clearing – water pressure builds behind the wall until a section collapses outward. This is the most common failure mode.
- Root penetration. Trees growing on abandoned terraces send roots through wall joints, eventually displacing individual stones and triggering progressive collapse.
- Lack of minor repair. Dry-stone walls require annual inspection and resetting of displaced stones. Individual displacements that go unaddressed cascade into section failures within two to three seasons.
UNESCO Recognition and Current Status
In November 2018, the Art of dry stone walling, knowledge and techniques was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The inscription recognized the empirical technical knowledge embodied in dry-stone construction across multiple countries, with Italy as one of eight co-submitting states. The Ligurian terracing tradition was cited specifically in the Italian nomination documentation.
Despite this recognition, large areas of the Ligurian terrace landscape are in progressive abandonment. Surveys from the Cinque Terre National Park estimate that only a fraction of the historic terrace area is currently under active agricultural use, with the remainder in varying degrees of disrepair.
