Pianoro
Subject: Villages and Settlements
Toponym: Livergnano
Type: Village
Municipality: Pianoro
Locality: Livergnano
Description
Decidedly not typical for an Apennine village in the province of Bologna, Livergnano appears in records dating as far back as the 13th century and a fortified building from a previous period is likely to have stood here: "... the situation of the place wholly inclines one to believe that a castle or tower had been built here, according to the custom of centuries remote from the present" (source: Dizionario orografico ... - S. Calindri - 1781 - Arnaldo Forni editore).
The most distinctive feature of the place is the dwellings built into the rocky wall over caves used for storage and to house animals in previous centuries; they were rebuilt and extended in different periods, so that their original height was increased.
These houses obviously have only one front with windows, but being set into rock they have guaranteed thermal stability both in summer and winter, which makes them comfortable to live in.