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Location information

Listed 11 sub titles with search on: Sights  for wider area of: "KASTORIA Prefecture GREECE" .


Sights (11)

Caves

Castanophyto Cave

KASTANOFYTO (Village) KASTORIA

Dragon cave

KASTORIA (Town) MAKEDONIA WEST

Fossilized forests

Fossilised Forest at Nostimo, Kastoria

NOSTIMO (Village) KASTORIA
  Nostimo is situated on the south-west of the region of Kastoria, in a distance of 15km from Argos Orestikon and on an altitude of 900 meters almost.
  Its soil presents mainly the Fossilised Forest, 20 million years old, with tropical and subtropical plants, according to the first findings of the professor of Palaeontology-Palaeobotanology of Athens University, Mr Velitzelos, who undertook its discovery. The main features of the Fossilised Forest are the perfect fossilisation of the tree trunks and the uniqueness of the finding.
  The palms possess an outstanding position as they are the only ones found in continental Greece, a fact that attributes a special importance to the historical evolution of the plants and the climate of the past, not only in the Greek territory but also on an international level.
  All around the village exist also rare sea fossils, such as starfishes, mussels, cockles, snails, shark tooth, etc. There have also been found some animal fossils with special scientific importance, that reverse the hitherto historical data. The fossilised tooth of a huge prehistoric herbivorous animal is very impressive.
  Until the termination of the researches and the studies, the visitors may see the findings of the forests in the Primary School of Nostimo, where there is a temporary exhibition room.
This text (extract) is cited June 2003 from the Prefecture of Kastoria tourist pamphlet.

Houses

The mansions of Kastoria

KASTORIA (Town) MAKEDONIA WEST
  The Turkish traveler Evliyia Celebi describes the mansions of the Greek quarter in 17th century Kastoria as being: "grand seraglios of a strange and curious nature. All the houses on the shores of the lake possess boatsheds and enclosed balconies. The seraglios are mansions with ports, and with one floor above the other in the Constantinople style"
  The lavishly decorated houses in Kastoria, which were built by wealthy merchants from the late 17th into the 19th century, have layouts which evolved from simple rectangles into a cross enclosed within a square, without undergoing any change in the arrangement or function of the rooms.
  The ground floor contains the auxiliary and storage spaces, the mezzanine a central area with a staircase and the winter rooms. The, usually two, best rooms on the upper storey are arranged around a central reception area ('doxatos') with 'krevates' and 'kioskia', special raised daises with wooden railings.
  The ground floor and mezzanine are built of stone and have only a few openings (air shafts, small windows), while the upper storey and the covered balconies are made of lighter material (varnished 'tsatmas', half timbering filled with various types of rubble, and plastered), particularly the section overlooking the lake or the inner courtyard, and illuminated by a double row of windows.

By kind permission of:Ekdotike Athenon
This text is cited Nov 2003 from the Macedonian Heritage URL below, which contains image.


The Nantzis mansion

  The mansion of Kyr-Yiannakis Nantzis is located in the Doultso district, in the vicinity of the church of Ayios Nikolaos, and must have been built around 1750. A painting in the wood-paneled room on the second floor bears the date 1796.
  The arrangement of the rooms and the plan of the house are especially unusual. The ground floor has a porch supported by three columns. An outdoor staircase that closes with a trapdoor provides access to the first floor.
  Wall-paintings with plant motifs combined with buildings are preserved in a small vaulted room with the varnished and painted ceiling. The rooms with the most extravagant decoration are the 'doxatos' and the 'kalos ondas' on the second floor, which are presided over by a painting of Constantinople amidst images from the plant and animal kingdoms (birds, lions), which are repeated in the wood carvings.

By kind permission of:Ekdotike Athenon
This text is cited Nov 2003 from the Macedonian Heritage URL below, which contains image.


The Tsiatsapas mansion

  The Tsiatsapas mansion is situated in the Apozari district on the north shore of the lake. It was built at the start of the 18th century by a well-to-do man named Moralis. Tsiatsapas must have ordered repairs in 1754, as stated in the inscription on the west side and on the mural in the best room.
  This is a grand mansion with a rectangular plan and three floors in addition to the ground floor. Although the rooms on the third floor have been lavishly decorated with wall-paintings and wood carvings, they have been irreparably damaged at certain points.
  The painting of an imaginary city on the wall of the 'doxatos' (parlour) and the stylized depiction of Constantinople in the south-west room, dated by its inscription to 1798, are not only impressive but important to our understanding of the folk painting of the era.

By kind permission of:Ekdotike Athenon
This text is cited Nov 2003 from the Macedonian Heritage URL below, which contains image.


The Aivazis mansion

  The mansion of Nerantzis Aivazis in the Doultso district has been converted into a folk art museum. Although it contains no inscriptions to date its construction, it must have been built during the second half of the 18th century. Its plan takes the form of a Greek pi but it lacks the usual projecting enclosed balconies.
  It consists of a ground floor, mezzanine and upper floor. On the mezzanine, the so-called "fur workshop"has a painted ceiling and a concave cornice below it depicting buildings in a landscape. Plant motifs ornament the walls of the 'doxatos' on the second floor as well as the walls of the 'kalos ondas', on which Venice is portrayed "according to the artist's imagination".

By kind permission of:Ekdotike Athenon
This text is cited Nov 2003 from the Macedonian Heritage URL below, which contains image.


Links

Byzantine Kastoria through its monuments

Foundation of the Hellenic World

Mountains

Ontria Mountain

ORESTIDA (Municipality) KASTORIA

Natural monuments

Rock complex at the "Kopela" location

KASTANOFYTO (Village) KASTORIA

Rivers

Aliakmon River

ORESTIDA (Municipality) KASTORIA

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