There are actually quite a lot of run-of-the-mill mediaeval buildings around if you know where to look. France and Germany still have quite a few small towns that have changed very little for 500 years. In England I'm afraid we don't really have any complete towns left but there are still a lot of individual buildings still around. The peasant dwellings tended to be not very durable so they were the first to collapse or be knocked down, but there are still plenty of pubs for instance that are 400 years old or more. There are also plenty of books on the subject. There's nothing wrong with Mediterranean tiles, they had them in Roman times onwards, it's just that I happen to like the old English style of plain clay tiles which are sported by most of the old buildings in the market town where I live.