A visit to the iconic house located in the Gulf of Baratti
Walking through the Mediterranean scrub in the Gulf of Baratti, starting from Demos and heading towards Pozzino beach, you can't help but notice two curious buildings. The first, immense, made of concrete with sinuous shapes. The second, made of wood, hexagonal in shape. Both buildings were designed in the 1960s by the same architect and were abandoned for many years. They were, therefore, curious buildings that vegetation was reclaiming, and I never took an interest in their history. Until a few days ago, when I managed to book a guided tour of the Dinosaur House, organized by the new owners, who in recent years have dedicated themselves to restoration and research to reconstruct not only the house but also the history of such a fascinating project.
'The things that work best are those that no one ever thinks of'
Vittorio Giorgini
A 'love story' born and grown with the house, which is not exhausted in the descriptions of 'iconic house' and which I invite you to hear directly from the owners. Friendship, passion, and love for the territory laid the foundations for the birth of this project and also almost decreed its abandonment.
A project 'born by chance and almost as a game, an architectural and friendly challenge between the Florentine architect Vittorio Giorgini and his friend and financier Salvatore Saldarini. The house is built using iron mesh and concrete, left protected by jute sacks to dry slowly while remaining elastic. A characteristic of the house is its ability to adapt to stresses and weight by flexing and adapting to it: it is therefore a unique construction of its kind, considered the first example of isoelastic architecture and rightly included in the 'Icon Houses' circuit.
The curved and sinuous lines of the Dinosaur are found inside the house, where a sense of peace and well-being reigns. White is the main protagonist, the walls are enveloping, and the linen curtains are supported by sticks collected on the beach. It is a unique building, with a splendid sea view (now partially covered by trees), which reveals all its soft charm inside. A feature that struck me greatly is also the use of stones, shells, and glass shards to decorate some internal passages of the 'dinosaur'. A living construction that slowly reveals itself to the eyes of those who observe it. You can find a beautiful description of the house and the visit in this article.
'After a certain period of time, this house entered the Olympus of 'curiosities' and kitsch, misunderstood as informal, organic, sculptural or something else, damn the critics!
It was never seen for what it actually was: an effort absolutely alien to these definitions, an attempt to understand a construction system, with all those limits due to the lack of knowledge and experience in the matter. For me it was nothing more than the beginning of the work..'
Vittorio Giorgini
The passion that drives Luca – the owner – and his wife Lara, leads them to regularly organize free visits to the property, like the one I was lucky enough to take: for more information, we recommend writing to info@casadinosaurobaratti.com or consulting the website www.casadinosaurobaratti.com, full of curiosities and photos of the property, and the Facebook page @casadinosaurobaratti, where new available dates are announced.
The visit concluded with an aperitif from Tenuta Poggiorosso accompanied by bread and oil and a collective toast held on a large circular concrete table, in front of the house and with an enchanting view of the Baratti sea.
Sharing the history and beauty of a place lovingly preserved reminds us how culture, friendship, and the desire to innovate can lead people to create great projects that time can transform but not erase. I am happy to know that Casa Dinosauro has now taken on new life and I thank the owners again for sharing their time to tell such a beautiful story of ingenuity and innovation.
