Cadole

We were having a bit of an explore around some of the areas we had not ventured through, and came across this beautifully preserved cadole. We do have a smaller one in our village which you can see from our garden, it is on the opposite side of the valley, but this one looked particularly good in the low evening sun, on the edge of the vineyards.

A cadole is a small dry-stone building erected by the wine growers to protect themselves from the often harsh climates, whether it’s the roaring heat of the summer sun, or the icy cold of the winter frosts. They appear to like ancient structures, however they were built in the last century. They can accommodate up to six people. They were built from flat stones collected from the surrounding slopes and piled on top of each other in a conical shape. They would leave enough room at the top to create a hole for the smoke from a fire for the cold chilly days. It took around two tonnes of stones to build a single cadole.

The cadoles had been abandoned for many years, buried under the undergrowth, but they are now gradually being restored in the region, and a number of signposted footpaths take you past the hobbit-like shelters.