Scope
Dovecroft is an editorial archive focused on the colombaia — the tower and integrated dovecote structures found across the agricultural landscape of Tuscany and Umbria. The archive covers construction typologies, historical use, ownership records drawn from notarial archives, and current heritage classification under Italian cultural property legislation.
The geographic scope is limited to the two central Italian regions where the colombaia tradition is most concentrated: Tuscany (particularly the provinces of Siena, Florence, and Arezzo) and Umbria (primarily the Trasimeno basin and the Tevere valley south of Perugia). Structures in Lazio, Marche, or Emilia-Romagna are occasionally referenced for comparative purposes but are not catalogued here.
Methodology
Entries in the archive draw on three categories of material:
- Archival records: inventories, contracts of colonia parziaria, and estate maps held at the Archivio di Stato in Florence (ASFi), Siena (ASSi), and Perugia (ASPg). Specific fondi consulted include the Carte Strozziane, the Archivio Guicciardini-Corsi-Salviati, and the Archivio del Catasto Leopoldino.
- Field documentation: on-site surveys conducted between 2019 and 2025, recording structural condition, internal nesting arrangements, and surviving decorative elements. Approximately 214 structures have been visited.
- Published catalogues: regional heritage surveys produced by the Ministero della Cultura (MiC), the Regione Toscana SITA database, and peer-reviewed studies in the journals Annali di Storia dell'Agricoltura and Archeologia dell'Architettura.
What this archive is not
Dovecroft is a reference record. It does not sell access, offer restoration advice as a commercial activity, or represent any heritage authority. The opinions expressed in interpretive passages are those of the archive editors and do not constitute legal or technical advice.
Photographs reproduced from Wikimedia Commons are used under their respective Creative Commons licences. All rights to archival images remain with the originating institutions.
Contact
Corrections, additional documentation, and research enquiries can be directed to:
Dovecroft
Via dei Colombai 18
50122 Florence, Italy
VAT: IT04512680480
info@dovecroft.eu
+39 055 012 3456