Listed 13 sub titles with search on: Sights for destination: "SIATISTA Town KOZANI".
Most of the wealthier mansions still standing in Siatista date from
the second half of the 18th and the 19th century. Built by prosperous local merchants
in two of the town's neighborhoods (Yerania and Hora), they are rectangular in
plan and their comfortable upper storeys are richly ornamented.
The low entrance, usually found in the western wall, leads to an inner,
flagstone courtyard ('embati' or 'mesia') around which the various auxiliary spaces
are grouped (storerooms, cellars, etc.). One stone staircase communicates with
the middle floor, a second with the upper floor. On the middle floor,
arranged around an inner wooden balcony, are the 'iliakos' (sun room, the main
reception room) and the winter reception and living rooms ('heimoniatika'). The
upper floor contains the summer rooms ('kalokairina') arranged around a central
space, to the right and left of which are corridors, the lavatory and utility
rooms.
From outside, the mansions resemble fortresses since their lower section
(middle and ground floors), dressed with bare stone, is equipped with loopholes
and only a few barred windows. Conversely, the top floor is a light construction
of varnished wood with enclosed balconies ('sachnisia') at the corners and larger
openings (windows and transoms).
By kind permission of:Ekdotike Athenon
This text is cited Nov 2003 from the Macedonian Heritage URL below, which contains image.
The Poulko (or Poulkidis) mansion stands in the Yerania neighbourhood
and, as the inscription above the entrance testifies, its construction began in
1752.
Its facade, in the section just under the roof, is decorated with
stylized ornamental motifs (rosettes, stars) and a ship. In the upper rooms the
plaster transom windows can still be seen with their complex stained glass designs.
In addition, the decorated plaster fireplace in an upstairs room is
an exceptional work. Among the wall-paintings is one of Constantinople
that seems to depict its siege by the Turks.
By kind permission of:Ekdotike Athenon
This text is cited Nov 2003 from the Macedonian Heritage URL below, which contains images.
The Nerantzopoulos (or Hatziyiannidis) mansion is situated on Hora's
main square. According to the inscription on the facade, it was built in 1754
by Hatziyiannidis who was a merchant
in Budapest (Nerantzopoulos acquired the house
later).
Its decoration
and plaster-framed transoms are impressive. From the wooden ceiling in the 'iliakos'
(the main room) on the mezzanine hang sculptures of a melon and a sliced watermelon.
In the transoms, apart from their lovely plaster frames, of interest are the incised
designs, inscriptions and lines of verse. Artfully written on smoked glass, the
verses are composed in an old fashioned language and praise the beauty and magnificence
of the house.
By kind permission of:Ekdotike Athenon
This text is cited Nov 2003 from the Macedonian Heritage URL below, which contains images.
The Sanoukos mansion is situated in the Hora district; according to
an inscription in one of the rooms, it was built in 1742. The resistance of its
dynamic owner, Kyra-Sanouko, to a raid by Turkish Albanians in 1784 has been immortalized
in a local folk song.
The rooms on the upper floor are decorated with plaster transom window
frames and with painted
carved wooden ceilings. The murals in the 'kalos ondas' (best room) depict
plant and symbolic themes, while between the real transoms trompe l'oeil imitations
have been painted.
By kind permission of:Ekdotike Athenon
This text is cited Nov 2003 from the Macedonian Heritage URL below, which contains image.
The Kanatsoulis (or Hatzimichail) mansion is located in the Hora neighbourhood.
It was built in 1757, as the inscription reads, by Nikos Hatzimichail, a member
of a powerful family
of merchants from Siatista, who had offices in Vienna and other central European
cities.
The Hatzimichail mansion contains one of the most interesting series
of 19th century folk
paintings, which an inscription dates to 1811. In a room on the mezzanine,
named the "Pantheon", the wall-paintings depict scenes
from mythology -- based on a mythology handbook written by Harisis Megdanis,
a scholar from Kozani -- as well as portraits of the owner, his wife and a second
male figure, perhaps a relative.
By kind permission of:Ekdotike Athenon
This text is cited Nov 2003 from the Macedonian Heritage URL below, which contains images.
The Maliongas (or Argyriadis) mansion stands next to the Nerantzopoulos
mansion. Tradition has it that its construction began in 1759. An inscription
in one of the rooms upstairs dates some repairs and part of the decorative
painting to 1844.
The murals in the house depict the owner's occupations as well as
his political ideas. There is a large painting of Frankfurt in a room on the ground
floor, while one in the main room upstairs shows an Austrian hussar. Two other
male figures on the ground floor have features resembling those of Rigas Ferraios
and Lord Byron.
By kind permission of:Ekdotike Athenon
This text is cited Nov 2003 from the Macedonian Heritage URL below, which contains images.
The Manousis mansion in Hora has an inscription on its facade dating
it to 1762-63. Its construction and sumptuous
decoration reflect the wealth of the Manousis family, who had created one
of the most powerful Siatistan trading
businesses in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Wood
carvings of exceptional quality decorate the mezzanine and upper storey. The
painting
decoration covers most of the walls and wood-paneled surfaces with an extraordinary
diversity of subjects (cities, Greek mountains between flower pots, symbolic representation
of a bird with a snake).
Of particular interest are the scenes of Mount
Athos with Vatopedi Monastery,
and Mount Siniatsiko with a house and tower, possible portrayals of specific buildings
in Siatista.
By kind permission of:Ekdotike Athenon
This text is cited Nov 2003 from the Macedonian Heritage URL below, which contains image.
The Keratzis mansion is located in Hora. It is not known when it was
built. Its wall-paintings,
concentrated in one of the upper rooms, are typical of the folk art of the second
half of the 19th century
Of special interest is the scene of Constantinople
within a frame of laurel leaves, which is a copy of a period copperplate engraving.
There are also paintings of Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus which
refer us to Athens and the foundation
of the Greek state. The presence of the meander amongst the other decorative
motifs shows the influence of neoclassicism.
By kind permission of:Ekdotike Athenon
This text is cited Nov 2003 from the Macedonian Heritage URL below, which contains images.
The Lioutaris (or Kariofilis) mansion is in the Yerania district.
Although its exact construction date is unknown, it must have been built around
the middle of the 19th century. The painting
decoration in the interior contains several neoclassical features.
Apart from the portrayal of Constantinople, which is less realistic
than the renderings of the city in the Poulko and Keratzis mansions, the wall-paintings
depict the four seasons and the allegorical figures of night and day. They are
the work of Christodoulos Zographou, a painter from Siatista.
By kind permission of:Ekdotike Athenon
This text is cited Nov 2003 from the Macedonian Heritage URL below, which contains image.
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