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Mitato ( el, μιτάτο, archaic form: , from la, metor, "to measure off/to pitch camp") is a term meaning "shelter" or "lodging" in Greek.
Appearing in the 6th century, during the
Cabanes d'estive (''mitata'') des environs d'Anogia en Crète centrale (Grèce)
(Summer shepherding huts (mitata) in the vicinity of Anogia in central Crete, Greece) {{Huts Byzantine secular architecture Byzantine law Crete Mountain huts Vernacular architecture
Mitato ( el, μιτάτο, archaic form: , from la, metor, "to measure off/to pitch camp") is a term meaning "shelter" or "lodging" in Greek.
Appearing in the 6th century, during the Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
period it referred to an inn
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
or trading house for foreign merchants, akin to a caravanserai. By extension, it could also refer to the legal obligation of a private citizen to billet state officials or soldiers. Alternatively, in the 10th century, Constantine Porphyrogenitus
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Ka ...
uses the term to refer to state-run ranches in Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...
.
In modern Greece, and especially on the mountains of Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
, a ''mitato'' (in the plural ''mitata'') is a hut built from locally gathered stones to provide shelter to shepherds
A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...
, and is used also for cheese-making. Mount Ida (also called Mount Psiloritis) in central Crete is particularly rich in flat stones suitable for dry stone construction.Sabine Ivanovas, ''Where Zeus Became a Man (with Cretan Shepherds)'', Efsthiadis Group Editions, 2000, 183 p. (Life in the corbelled dry stone huts of central Crete).
See also
*Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...
References
External links
*Cabanes d'estive (''mitata'') des environs d'Anogia en Crète centrale (Grèce)
(Summer shepherding huts (mitata) in the vicinity of Anogia in central Crete, Greece) {{Huts Byzantine secular architecture Byzantine law Crete Mountain huts Vernacular architecture