I'm wondering about the type of construction used in urban residential buildings at the turn of the century for a diorama I'm working on. My damaged building is set in central Italy near the Gothic Line in 1944, so I'm guessing it could have been built around 1900. The building will be stone clad (masonry and block). Would the interior have been balloon framed? What about the finish? Lath and plaster?

My building doesn't actually exist. I'm just trying to model a generic structure of the type typically seen in the area at the time.

Rent some of the "Don Camillo" movies (The Fernandel Version!!!) Those where done in Italy and have both internal and external shots. May be a nice start

Top notch advice!

Was about to suggest the same, as we had used these videos to establish the basics of a house "on the piazza" for a small "italian" dio a couple of years ago.

We are talking about a smaller rural city here. Big buildings in big cities are a completely different matter of course. For that you could always check with "Royal Model". Being an italian company they sure get their stuff right.

Cheers

Romain

The houses in that small villages are still the same so the best way is lookinkg some good pics with google








Interiors are no balloon framed, floors could be or made in wood or in masonery.
Houses could be very different, it depends on the region where you're going to set your diorama

If you need help let me know

Cheers

Thanks for the help gents. I've come to the realisation that buildings in Western Europe and the Mediterranean were/are built of stone/masonry, and that the only framing inside is around windows and doors, and floors. I didn't realise that the interior walls simply have parging /plaster applied directly to the stone and then painted or wallpapered over. There was no framing to provide space for insulation! No wonder TB and rheumatisms were so common in the winter when my folks were growing up. Winters in northern France/Belgium/Low Countries must have suuuuucked!