Pyrgi (, ) is a village on the Greek island of
Chios
Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...
, known as the "painted village" on account of the decoration of the houses. This mostly consists of black and white decorative motifs in different shapes. Pyrgi is one of the biggest villages in Chios, located in the south part of the island, 25 km south of the
island's capital. It is the traditional seat of the
Mastic Villages
Mastichochoria (, , lit. "the mastic villages" in English) is a former municipality on the island of Chios (Χίος), North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Chios, of which it is a municipal un ...
, a group of villages where the residents engage with
mastic agriculture. These villages have been added in representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO. The population of Pyrgi is 1,063 inhabitants according to the 2021 census.
Description
Pyrgi still keeps the medieval style. The settlement's roads are narrow and are covered with arches or vaults. In the middle of the village there is a tower with a height of 18 meters. Around it, there are walls with four towers in the corners. In the village, there are three old churches, Agioi Apostoloi (the older church, built probably during 15th century), Koimisis Theotokou and Taxiarchis. The village stands out from the other mastic villages because its houses are worked with decorative motifs in different shapes. The decorative motifs in the facade of the houses are called "Xistà".
Geography
A kind of white dirt found near Pyrgi
[.] was famed as an
astringent
An astringent (sometimes called adstringent) is a chemical that shrinks or constricts body tissues. The word derives from the Latin '' adstringere'', which means "to bind fast". Astringency, the dry, puckering or numbing mouthfeel caused by t ...
and
cosmetic since
antiquity as "
Chian earth" (; , ''pēlomaiotiko'').
[ Extracted around ]May
May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days.
May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the ...
each year,[ it was considered less valuable than the similar medicinal earth produced by ]Lemnos
Lemnos ( ) or Limnos ( ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos (regional unit), Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean modern regions of Greece ...
given that the Limnian earth was considered protective against venom
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
s and poison
A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...
s[ but nonetheless reputed to be "the greatest of all cosmetics... giv nga whiteness and smoothness to the ]skin
Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.
Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...
and prevent ngwrinkles
A wrinkle, also known as a rhytid, is a fold, ridge or crease in an otherwise smooth surface, such as on skin or fabric. Skin wrinkles typically appear as a result of ageing processes such as glycation, habitual sleeping positions, loss of bo ...
beyond any of the other substances that have been celebrated for the same purposes."[.]
History
Pyrgi is possibly a medieval settlement, built before 10th century. It gathered population from different villages, whose residents settled in Pyrgi to avoid the pirates' raids. It is mentioned in documents of the 11th, 14th and 15th centuries. The village didn't suffer damage from the earthquake of 1881 and so it keeps the medieval style. Pyrgi became the seat of the Mastic community and nowadays it is the seat of the Mastichochoria municipal unit.
Historical population
Gallery
Πυργί - Οδός Κωνσταντίνου Αλιβιζάτου.jpg, Street of the village
Ξυστά σε οίκημα - Πυργί, Χίος.jpg, House covered in sgraffito
(; ) is an artistic or decorative technique of scratching through a coating on a hard surface to reveal parts of another underlying coating which is in a contrasting colour. It is produced on walls by applying layers of plaster tinted in con ...
(''local name:Xistà'')
Ξυστά σε οίκημα - Πυργί, Χίος 2.jpg, Other buildings
Πυργί - Ναός Αγίων Αποστόλων.jpg, Holy Apostles church
File:Chios, Pyrgi, Theotoukou-church.jpg, Theotokos church
File:ΠΥΡΓΙ ΣΧΕΔΙΑ ΚΑΜΑΡΕΣ.jpg, Street of Pyrgi
References
External link
BBC short documentary on the geometric decorations of Pyrg
{{Landmarks of Chios
Populated places in Chios