The first Dry Stone Workshop “The Amorgian Craftsmanship” was successfully completed on Friday 15 October 2021. The Workshop was organized in the area of Langada by the Mitato of Amorgos, a group whose goal is the preservation of the natural and cultural environment of Amorgos and the Cyclades in general.
During the Workshop, four local craftsmen, masons Antonis Vlavianos, Michalis Theologitis, Antonis Synodinos and Dimosthenis Theologitis, led more than 20 apprentices and participants in the construction of dry stone sustaining walls and cobblestone path.More local craftsmen, shepards and other peasants, were present at the workshop, applying the art of dry stone as they have learnt it from their forefathers and as they continue to use it in their fields.
The result of this collective effort is a beautiful dry stone complex, organically integrated in its surrounding natural environment, which the organizers, masons and participants hope will serve as an example for similar interventions in the Amorgian landscape in the future.
Within the context of the Workshop, lectures were presented in the evening hours, where several issues related to dry stone were discussed, as well as topics related to the role of dry stone structures, such as terraces, in the environment, tradition and culture. Lectures were presented by Mr Rigas Zafeiriou from the Mediterranean Institute for Nature and Anthropos (Med-INA), Mr Grigoris Koutropoulos and Mr Panagiotios Kostoulas from the itinerant workshop on traditional building techniques Boulouki, Dr Theodora Petanidou from the University of the Aegean, architects Mrs Eleni Pangratiou-Alexaki, Dr Ioulia Papaeftychiou and Dr Vivianna Metallinou, Mr Andreas Maniatis, representing the Blossoming Stones from Langadia, Arkadia, and Mr Ioannis Lagos, president of the Panhellenic Confederation of Social Economy Unions. The Dry Stone Workshop “The Amorgian Craftsmanship” concluded with a beautiful farewell ceremony on the evening of 15th October 2021, where a first report of the project was presented and certificates and souvenirs were awarded to participants. The feedback received by all participants was excellent, acknowledging the role of the Workshop in raising awareness on the importance of the art of dry stone and its cultural, aesthetic and social value.
The Dry Stone Workshop “The Amorgian Craftsmanship” was realized under the auspices of the Municipality of Amorgos, with the sponsorship of the Ministry of Culture and Sport, the Secretariat-General of the Aegean and Island Policy , Blue Star Ferries, and the support of Cyclades Preservation Fund (CPF) and Part of the Solution..
The lectures presented are available here.
- Rigas Zafeiriou, coordinator of the programmes on Kythera Island (Kythera Trails, Terra Kytheria), Mediterranean Institute for Nature and Anthropos (MedINA).The wisdom of tradition: The environmental value of dry stone complexes in the Mediterranean ecosystems.
- P. Kostoulas, G. Koutropoulos, architects, “Boulouki” itinerant workshop. ‘“In place - On the road”: The itinerant workshop approach for the traditional building techniques.
- Dr T. Petanidou, Professor, Department of Geography, University of the Aegean. The project LIFE TERRACESCAPE: too ambitious to succeed?
- Dr I. Papaeftychiou, Dr architect. International dry stone practices. Dry stone structures in Greece.
- Andreas S. Maniatis, Member of the Board of Directors of the non-profit association "Blossoming Stones". The Blossoming Stones and the masonry of Langadians: An example of reviving an empirical craft related to sustainable local development.
- Dr V. Metallinou, Dr architect. The elegy of stone on the highlands of Aegiali, Amorgos.
Water on the island of Amorgos – The traditional management systems as inspiration for the future
One of the most crucial issues on the Greek islands is the management of water resources. The confined geography, the shift of local economy and society with the consequent abandonment of agricultural land, as well as the current challenges of touristic development and climate change, raise concerns regarding the sustainable future of these exceptional places and their treatment.
read moreSocial and Anthropological Aspects of Amorgian Craftmanship and the Art of Dry Stone Walling
"The Mitato of Amorgos" was created in 2020 by a group of people who share common concerns and a common vision for both the natural and the manmade environment of the island of Amorgos -and the Cyclades in general. As an organisation, during the previous years, we have worked towards the restoration of the extensive network of paths, namely the old, now partially closed, routes that used to connect the different areas of Amorgos in the past. Through this attempt, we have witnessed the importance of the dry-stone walls in the preservation and further revitalization of this network of paths. Besides, one can easily observe how dry stone walls, terraces, buildings, are not only embedded in the network of paths, but have also shaped the entire landscape of the area. In that sense, these stone structures are a cultural and material testimony to the time and work that generations of people have devoted to crafting the island’s landscape, as well as an invaluable intergenerational know-how.
read moreDry Stone Week on Tinos Island, organised by the Assocation “Ambassada”
Από τις 24 Νοεμβρίου έως την 1η Δεκεμβρίου 2024 βρεθήκαμε στην Τήνο, μετά από πρόσκληση του Συλλόγου «Αμπασάδα», για μια εβδομάδα αφιερωμένη στην Τέχνη της Ξερολιθιάς.
read moreAnother successful completion of the Dry Stone Workshop “The Amorgian Craftrsmanship”!
Friday 25 October 2024 marked the completion of the 3rd Dry Stone Workshop “The Amorgian Craftrsmanship”, organised by the Mitato of Amorgos.
The project was concluded in complete success, with 40 participants and 18 guest speakers, masons and representatives of administrative and citizen bodies from eight islands, as well as the rest of Greece and abroad...
read moreΤhe 3rd Dry Stone Workshop “The Amorgian Craftsmanship” returns in October 2024!
We are pleased to announce the 3rd Dry Stone Workshop “The Amorgian Craftsmanship”, which will be held in Aegiali, Amorgos Island, from 21 to 25 October 2024.
Following the cancellation of our Workshop in 2023, we are very happy to organise our project anew, incorporating a broader framework of events.
Contributing to the workshops on spatial planning for the preservation of the Cycladic identity of Paros
It was our pleasure and honour to be invited as speakers in the last weekend of this series of events, on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 April 2024. During the second day, we discussed the role of civil society in preserving the Cycladic landscape...
read moreA visit to Tilos island on the occasion of the dry stone school of “Petra Tilos”
It is exciting to see more and more projects related to dry stone masonry in the Aegean being organised, giving us the chance to visit new places, meet new groups of people and join new initiatives, always with the common element of the love towards the land and its tradition.
During the first weekend of April 2024, we had the opportunity to participate in the Dry Stone School which was organised by ...
The Mitato of Amorgos takes part in the 1st dry stone workshop on the island of Paros
On 10 and 11 February, we had the chance to experience a beautiful weekend in the heart of the Cycladic winter, on the occasion of the 1st Dry Stone Workshop on the island of Paros. The project was organised by “Archilochos” Cultural Association of Paros, along with the Cultural Association of Angeria, and it was a complete success.
read moreParticipation in the community mapping workshop in Kallithea, Aitoloakarnania
The Mitato of Amorgos had a wonderful and creative start to 2024! We had the opportunity to take part in the highly interesting Community Mapping Workshop that was organised by Youth Active Minds and Boulouki teams in Kallithea, Aitoloakarnania, Greece, from 2 to 7 January 2024. For four days, we worked with an active team of young people, of various...
read moreEvents and projects of autumn 2023
The autumn season of 2023 has been a period during which several events regarding the intangible heritage, the environment and sustainability have taken place in various parts of Greece. The Cyclades, experiencing unprecedented pressure and limited resources, have no doubt been in the centre of such developments. It was therefore unsurprising that several important events took place in the area, such as the Workshop on the Endangered Landscape of Sifnos Island...
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