The Lys valley, in the foothills of the Italian Alps, exhibits a distinctive vernacular architecture, grown over centuries of harsh living and adapting to a steep rocky environment with unforgiving weather and a paucity of flat land. Strong heavy beams support wind-resisting thick rock roofs. Rock walls endure centuries, unique foundations and myriad beautiful details abound. Churches were built and rebuild over millennia making precise dating difficult. When a road replaced a cart track to the precipice-clinging hamlet of Marine, part of a house had to be demolished and rebuilt over the top.
