The pelioritic villages are in absolute harmony with the landscapes, they look like they have grown out of the ground. Speechless witnesses of Pelion’s history are the famous mansions, which can be found in every village. Stone built, huge, with roofs made of pilioritic stone, they used to be the houses of the richest and the most important members of Pelion’s society. Gazing at them you still feel the glory of the past.
The factors that contributed to the villages’ development were many, but they pertain mainly to the fertile land with running water, the easy transportation by the sea, the local government with the privileges given by the Turkish conquerors, the investments by the expatriates (mainly those living in Egypt) from Pelion, and of course the passion that characterized even the simplest construction.
Pelion’s architecture deserves a particular reference and the mansions houses of Pelion that are preserved until today, bringing to mind the glorious past times, are worth being explored by the visitor.
Pelion architecture
Broadly speaking, we can divide Pelion architecture into three main periods: the first period of “early Pelion architecture” includes buildings built up to the mid-18th century. Most of these buildings have a square floor plan and are built with local stone. Their floors are usually built from stone and wood. The external walls are double, there is an elevated entrance, and there are small symmetrical windows. The second period of architecture is the “classical period”, which covers 1750 to 1850. The majority of the mansions that were built at this time have a stone base with two or three floors, reminiscent of the early towers. The roofs are covered with Pelion slate, protecting the houses from the weather. Internally, the mansions have rich painted decorations, while on the exterior, decorations include motifs and inscriptions.
The mansions houses of Pelion, surrounded by the green landscape, are scattered in plane trees, cool streams, flowery slopes, uphill cobbles, fragrant flower gardens and lush gardens with dense vegetation.
Traditional verandas, decorative windows that offer a fairy sense, doors and lintels with carved wood, are in harmony with the natural environment, leading to a unique visual result. Pelion villages were not fortified, but in almost all of them there were castellated houses that were like fortresses.
The castellated houses started to being built in early 17th. century, influenced by similar houses of the Turkish landlords of Thessaly. They were tall houses like fortresses, and they were built near the areas that Turks had their land, such as Ano Volos, Lechonia, and around the castle of Volos. Later, when the circumstances enabled the development of trade and the local people of Pelion had their own money, they built also castellated houses, which were similar to the Turkish ones. Indicative examples of this kind of houses can be found today in Kissos (Pitsos’s houses), Makrinitsa (Konstantidis’s mason house), Agios Lavrentios and Agios Georgios.
Fortunately, the special conditions of building constructions, that are in force in Pelion, protect and retain the beauty of these houses. Nevertheless, in some cases there are minor problems…
Apart from the houses and the churches, there are also other buildings that reveal the excellence and elegance of the craftsmen of Pelion… The stone arched bridges, embraced by the ivy over the years, complete the beautiful image.
Another unique feature of Pelion is the cobbles. In Pelion, there is a wide network of cobbles, which initial purpose of construction was not of course fun or hiking, but they constituted the national transportation network. Through this network, the financial life of the villages can be observed (e.g. by how big was a cobble, how many bridges meets each cobble, etc.). The cobbles that served a great part of the transportation, were constructed bigger. Fortunately, nowadays, a lot of the cobbles of Pelion are pertained and the visitors who love hiking, have the opportunity to admire them.
Stone carving, painting, and stone curving have contributed in the decoration of Monasteries, old mansions houses, picturesque squares, curved fountains, which constitute the wonderful accomplishments of the folk artistic sensibility.
Additionally, one of the most common and most interesting constructions in Pelion is fountains which, created with the passion of local craftsmen, constitute real works of art. Decorated with stone curved themes inspired by nature, history, religious tradition, they are real masterpieces. Each fountain has its own name as well as its own history...
Qualified workmen and builders spent a lot of time and were dedicated to their constructions. Craftsmen from Epirus came to Pelion and taught their local colleagues how to carve the stones, how to use them in building and how to built houses, cobbles and bridges, using materials from the natural environment, such as stones and wood.
In many cases, where they built the foundations of a construction, they broke every rock that they found, using the stones in the building. Do not forget that transferring materials was not so easy at those times. So, in this way, many houses were built utterly embedded in the natural environment. The folk architecture of Pelion holds a significant position in the Greek architecture.
The third period architecture “Late Pelion architecture”, flourished for thirty years from 1860 to 1890, where neoclassical buildings appeared in Pelion. These buildings were more influenced by contemporary Egyptian architectural styles of the era. Many Greeks had migrated and flourished in Alexandria of Egypt and when they returning back to their homeland were bringing with them the welth, knoledge and civil status to show them off. These mansions are characterized by simple lines, perfectly symmetrical facades, and marble details. Large symmetrical windows, ornate wooden doors, and grand staircases complete the constructions. Of course, it is not only the mansions that fascinate visitors, but also the scattered religious monuments and fountains with representations of the plant and animal kingdom, as well as mythology.
There are also 42 stone bridges, which are part of the unique architecture of Pelion! Most of them are stone and arched, and they connect well with the nature around them. Pelion architecture is harmoniously matched with the natural environment and this makes it truly unique!
The beautiful architecture of Pelion is completed by the various old churches, hidden in the villages and on the mountain. In most of them you find really old, wooden temples and screens of unique beauty, handmade by unknown talented artists.
Arts in Pelion
In Anakasia, at the house of Yiannis Kontos and in Alli Meria, at the bakery of Veletzas there are paintings of the famous greek painter Theophilos (1873 – 1934) you can find more information about him here. The wallpaintings and frescoes that decorate the interior of the pilioritic mansions or churches are inspired by the nature and the local way of life. In the churches apart from religious icons, we see frescoes with different themes and samples of sculpture on wood or stone.
