Kapesovo ( el, Καπέσοβο) is a village in the
Zagori
Zagori ( el, Ζαγόρι; rup, Zagori), is a region and a municipality in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, in northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Asprangeloi. It has an area of some and contains 46 villages known as ...
region (
Epirus
sq, Epiri rup, Epiru
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = Historical region
, image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...
region), it is 43 km north of
Ioannina. The name Kapesovo is
Slavic and means garden. The village used to be more south near Baya (Kipi), where many vegetables were grown and it was called "Kapouska". It was later moved to its current position for health reasons. There is a big cliff next to the village called "Kapesios" (a Slavic word that means cliff) and the name of the village might be related to it.
The village is near the
Vikos canyon
The Vikos Gorge or Vikos Canyon ( gr, Φαράγγι του Βίκου) is a gorge in the Pindus Mountains of north-western Greece. It lies on the southern slopes of Mount Tymphe with a length of about 32 km, depth ranging from 120 to 1350 ...
, the view of which is spectacular at certain spots.
History
In the 18th and 19th centuries Kapesovo was renowned in Epirus for its painters, called mpogades ( el, Μπογάδες), that worked in dozens of churches from
Moscopole
Moscopole or Voskopoja ( sq, Voskopojë; rup, Moscopole, with several other variants; el, Μοσχόπολις, Moschopolis) is a village in Korçë County in southeastern Albania. During the 18th century, it was the cultural and commercial ...
to
Arta.
Kapesovo experienced a great flourishing until 1860 and this is evident in the great manors with folk wall paintings and churches with paintings (hagiographies) in their interior. The church of Aghios Nikolaos, built in 1793, the cultural center and the folkloric museum are some of the village's attractions. In the Paschaleios School, found at 1861, by Konstantinos and Pavlos Paschalis, is kept today one of the four copies of
Rigas Fereos
Rigas Feraios ( el, Ρήγας Φεραίος , sometimes ''Rhegas Pheraeos''; rup, Riga Fereu) or Velestinlis (Βελεστινλής , also transliterated ''Velestinles''); 1757 – 24 June 1798), born as Antonios Rigas Velestinlis ( el ...
chart.
The village also might have been settled by
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
Albanians, locally called "Arvanites", who largely came after the 15th century, later assimilating into the local population.
Out of the village is a cobble stone pathway down a steep rocky slope that leads to nearby
Vradeto
Vradeto ( el, Βραδέτο) is a village in the Greek Zagori region ( Epirus region). It lies at a height of 1340m on Mt Tymphe in the Pindus mountain range. It is the highest of the 44 villages of Zagori. It is the middle of the Vikos–Aoö ...
. The pathway is a work of great craftsmanship of Epirotic artisans. Outside of the village, close to Kipoi village is the famous bridge of Kalogeriko or Plakidas.
The Kapesovites used to migrate mostly to Egypt and the U.S. In Greece, they migrated to Macedonia and Athens.
[A.Kathareios (Inspector of the 1st educational region of Epirus) ''Report of Inspection of Zagorohoria in 1913'']
Personalities
*Konstantinos and Pavlos Paschalis, merchants and benefactors.
*Alexis Noutsos, advisor of
Ali Pasha.
*Ioannoutsos Karamesinis, general governor of the '
League of Zagori', 19th century.
Gallery
File:Καπεσοβο 01.jpg, Partial view of Kapesovo.
File:Καπεσοβο 02.jpg, Partial view of Kapesovo's square.
File:Καπεσοβο 04.jpg, Partial view of Kapesovo.
File:Καπεσοβο 05.jpg, Partial view of Kapesovo.
File:Καπεσοβο 06.jpg, Partial view of Kapesovo.
File:Καπεσοβο 09.jpg, Christian Orthodox temple in the village.
File:Καπεσοβο 13.jpg, An old door in the village.
Sources
Prefecture of Ioannina. Tourist department of Greece
Bibliography
*
References
{{Zagori div
Populated places in Ioannina (regional unit)