Propping things up

My brother has been having a lot of problems with subsidence in his house. It seems to have been caused by holes that form in the chalky soil under the foundations. He has got a lot of scaffolding up to prop up the house while the work is being done. I was reminded of this today.

We went in a pasticceria in a town in the mountais and I was very surprised to see this ... prop ...

The waitress explained that it had been put there because of the problems of subsidence. It was propping up the ceiling. It seemed a very Italian solution.