The present Filigheddu Costruzioni back to 1995, when Pietro Filigheddu, along with his sons Giovanni Maria and Nico, and Adriano Asara picked up the legacy of the former Effe Costruzioni, which had started operating in the area in the Seventies. From it they created a new company that was dynamic and that with its specific skills was able to take on the fierce competition of groups that had come from the mainland to work in Sardinia.

Pietro Filigheddu (born 1942) was one of the founders of the first company. He had dreamed of running it together with his partner Giovanni Filippeddu, but their alliance lasted only a few years; the dream was rudely cut short when Giovanni met an untimely death in 1991. He was only forty-four years old. There had to be a generational leap; those who had been the young recruits just starting out in the workplace under the guidance of the “fathers”, had to pick up the pace, put their best foot forward, and fill a void. The three young men, Giovanni Maria and Nico Filigheddu and Adriano Asara, under the knowing and critical gaze of Pietro, turned what could have been a difficult situation into one of stimulus and challenge.

 

Today Filigheddu Costruzioni can boast a broad range of experience (of which this book is proof), thanks to its solid base of know-how, an outstanding degree of specialization, and efficient in-house organization.

 

The professional qualities of Filigheddu Costruzioni cover many areas:

The skill of Filigheddu Costruzioni’s craftsmen and workers can be seen clearly in all the details: in the treatment of the stone, first of all, which is strictly hands-on work with the aid of a hammer and chisel; machinery is barred. Stone carving and cutting is not very different from cutting diamonds; 

one must know the deep grain of the granite in order to identify exactly where to aim the first blow and be able to imagine all the consequences.

The bricklayers, too, must perform to a very high standard: here, where the houses are often situated in problematic places and should seem as if they have always been there, cocooned and part of the nature that surrounds them, the walls seem moulded on the spot, rounded off or put out of plumb, and they define complex arches and ceilings, whose form is often conceived onsite, when the architect asks for his ideas, conveyed with a simple sketch drawn on a wall, to be made a reality as quickly as possible.

Filigheddu Costruzioni’s strengths do not stop here.

Several examples illustrated in these pages highlight the company’s ability to recreate with surgical precision entire stretches of landscape. This happens when the project requires the addition of natural rocks that should fit in with the building under construction. Large boulders are brought to the site by mechanical means, carefully balanced, and anchored by iron buttresses. Then they are bound and “sutured”, as wounds are. When the vegetation has covered them over again, nobody will have the slightest idea of how much work went into getting them there. A similar procedure was used with many of the swimming pools whose natural look is enhanced by rocky formations emerging from the water or along the edge. It is as if the swimming pool were created around them, whereas in fact they have to be transported and positioned on the site. It is hard to believe at first sight that they also have the function of concealing lighting and purification systems. Filigheddu Costruzioni has reason to be proud of its technological expertise. Knowledge of their subjects and continuous updating of this knowledge have allowed them to install highly complex systems that are invisible to the visitor’s eye: from the security systems to the air conditioning and the swimming pool heating. All represent a challenge requiring made-to-measure solutions, since many of these villas have “luxury grotto” looks, as one architect described them, and the owners who choose these locations want to distance themselves from everything that smacks of the modernity of urban settings, while still desiring all of the benefits.

Last but not least of Filigheddu Costruzioni’s professional qualities is their ability to offer a full design package, as illustrated by one of the projects shown in these pages.

Perhaps the finest for its harmony and coherence, this project is an example of when, instead of seeking to invent something new, a traditional approach was preferred, without special innovations, a conservative taste that sees the past as a source of inspiration. A building the likes of which we would like to see more often, and not just in Sardinia.