Architecture

The 15 villages that make up the town (“heivilan” in the Sappada dialect) are a short distance from one another, occupying the valley floor.
Despite the passage of time, to a large extent they have retained their original appearance. The Sappada architecture is generally made up of two buildings: the actual house (“haus”) and the stable (stòol) and hay-loft (dille). Every house in the village was rustic and simple, but large and functional, built almost entirely of wood using the “Blockbau” system ” with overlapping horizontal beams, inserted at the corners and resting on a stone base.

Generally, in the traditional house the kitchen(Kuchl) faces south with an open fireplace where meat was smoked and the dining area (Koschtibe) with the walls covered with wood and heated by a large stone stove. To the north is a closet (schtibile) or a room (Kommer) leading to the second floor via a steep staircase that leads into a new corridor. To the south and north are the bedrooms (Kommer).

This traditional architecture has been preserved especially in the upper part of the town, the so-called “Sappada Vecchia” and in the village of Cima Sappada.