Necessity, the Mother of Invention

Families that live on the ground floor and whose front door opens straight on to the street do not have the luxury of a balcony to hang their laundry out to dry on. They are forced to hang their clothes, and in this case towels, out on the sidewalk on one of these drying racks. Personally, I'm glad I don't have to do this...it would bother me to think that anyone walking by could look at my stuff.

Apartments on the Edge

Many apartments are built around the perimeter of a city block, facing outward, leaving a large inner courtyard. Unfortunately, these open spaces aren't usually used for anything particularly interesting. They allow for windows and air on both sides of each apartment and provide a balcony for hanging out the laundry in relative privacy. Well, all the other apartment dwellers can see your socks and underwear, but at least they're not hanging out over the street!

This series of photos was taken around the courtyard behind a friend's house.

Dry at Your Own Risk

I'd say 90% of Molfettans live in apartment blocks. Single family homes are rare and are certainly not found in town, but only out in the countryside. However, 99% of the apartments have a balcony where one can grow a few plants and, more importantly, hang out the laundry to dry. Around here basically no one has a dryer. The climate is temperate and for most of the year there are enough sunny days to get your clothes dry by hanging them out on the line. They have a lovely clean smell after being dried in the sun.

I'd be afraid to go out on the balcony in the center of the photo below for any reason! Do you think the people who live there have noticed what's happening to the underside of their balcony? (Click on the photo to enlarge it and see the full extent of the damage.)