"Study the past if you want to define the future."
– Confucio
The Cretans, in some buildings, begin to use pozzolanic materials in the form of calcined clay powder.
Phoenicians and Israelites knew the technique of producing hydraulic mortars of enormous technological importance in all their hydraulic works (aqueducts, ports, reservoirs, etc.).
Macedonians in their homes and palaces used earthenware as a binder for floors, especially for mosaics and pebbles.
The Greek Carthaginians used the cocciopesto for the buildings. It was adopted throughout Magna Graecia and by the Greeks of Sicily, from which the Italics also took it back.
The Romans have been using cocciopesto since 400 BC. and, with the birth of the Roman Empire, it spread exponentially.
The cocciopesto in ancient times
The Romans are the first people who began to use cocciopesto on a large scale for several purposes.
As a waterproofing plaster for cisterns, tubs, terraces, thermal pools and masonry works against the ground.
As interior flooring, developing a simple and refined decorative repertoire and, at the same time an economical, robust and continuous walking surface.
The Romans called this technique Opus Signorum, from the name of the city of Signia, today’s Segni. This town was the largest brick production centre of the time, especially popular for the production of tiles.
The original cocciopesto mixture was a mixture of brick and stone fragments, hydraulic lime and water.
Wine and cocciopesto
To talk about the history of wine, all you can do is tell the story of humanity itself.
As early as 6000 BC in the current Georgia, we find traces of the presence of Vitis Vinifera, later also found in Iran from 5000 BC, in Greece from 4500 BC. and in Sicily from 4000 BC approximately.
However, the oldest example of continuous wine production dates back to approximately 4100 BC.. The oldest cellar dedicated exclusively to conservation has been found in Armenia. The very first amphorae for wine were discovered in the Caucasus mountains and the Black Sea, in the cradle of world viticulture.
In Georgia, the first clay skins
The first territory in which the vine was developed and domesticated, thus giving life to the dawn of winemaking, is Georgia.
Georgian viticulture has always been linked to qvevri, the traditional ovoid-shaped wineskins made of baked clay.
The earliest qvevri date back to 8000 years ago, in pre-Roman times: these were used for burial and did not have handles. The wineskins were made of terracotta, unglazed but lined on the inside with a thin layer of beeswax that limited evaporation and exchange with the external environment.
After being wrapped externally with a layer of lime, the wineskins were buried in covered areas and sometimes outdoors. This ensured that the temperature was maintained during all phases: fermentation, maturation and refinement of the wine.
The cocciopesto in Roman times for winemaking
The DT cocciopesto wine vessels
Therefore, the idea of the DT cocciopesto wine vessels comes to us from Ancient Rome.
The Roman building tradition blends with modern forms in order to give life to innovative amphorae for wine.
The cocciopesto is in fact a material that has a remarkable water resistance, a durability over time and a significant thermal inertia. It is naturally dried and can be used in winemaking with advantages both in terms of durability and in terms of the behavior of the container with respect to the content. Indeed, it is an extremely porous material, which ensures excellent micro-oxygenation.
