Pirgi

The village of Pirgi is especially rich from an archaeological, folklore and linguistic point of view. Its pattern is oval-shaped and surrounded by a medieval enclosure formed by the external walls of the outlining houses. There were only two exits from the village, locked by iron gates (upper gate, lower gate). Its streets are narrow and its houses tall, most of them are two and three-storey buildings. Pirgi took its name from the big and tall tower (pirgos) around which the settlement was developed. At the village square, Byzantine church of Agii Apostoli has preserved exquisite frescoes inspired by themes from the Old and the New Testament. The very existence of that church testifies that the village was not first founded by the Genoans; some neighbouring settlements were simply incorporated into the already existing village during the Genoese Occupation. In Pirgi, visitors shall come across a unique kind of decoration on house facades. Xysta are designs cut on plaster, unique in Greece and quite impressive as to their technique and the final result. The patterns are very simple: triangles, diamond shapes, circles and semi-circles. The technique is based on scraping black sand over a meticulously whitened plaster. The result is black geometrical patterns on white background. Xysta adorn the walls of churches and houses, giving a very unusual final impression. Pirgi’s folklore aspect is extremely interesting as well, as it is the only village that has partly maintained its old local costumes and many of its manners and customs. Pirgi is the administrative seat of Mastihohoria Municipality.