Pyrgi - Chios - Greece 2022

All photos taken with the FujiFilm X100V

Of all the wonderfully impressive things that we saw in Greece this past Summer, one of the standout moments of the trip was our time in Mastichoria, a southern region in Chios with collection of medieval villages. The villages in this region were known for being cultivators of Mastic trees, which produce a resin called Mastica. The production of mastica is specific to the island of Chios, and has been a claim to fame for the island for thousands of years.

The first Mastic village that we visited was the town of Pyrgi - known as "The Painted Village", renown for its elaborate geometric decorations carved into the stucco of the building façades, via a technique called Sgraffito. The aesthetic is quite striking, as there is not a street corner that you can turn into where you do not observe at least one building elaborately decorated in this technique.

In addition to the sgraffito decoration, some buildings feature bold and bright colors, in shades of light blues, yellows, and pinks. It is incredibly unique for a town in a remote region of Greece, let alone anywhere that I've visited in all of my travels.

There is also charm to be found in the smallest of details throughout the town, as the residents decorate their porches with various plants, knickknacks, and paintings. Everybody appears to be in on the effort, and you can almost sense a competition amongst the villagers to have the most elaborately styled, and visually striking home.

In the center of the town - as is tradition with most towns in Greece - is a town plaza and a large Church. Pyrgi is (slightly) unique in that is has two churches; an ancient, Byzantine style church which is opened for special ceremonies and celebrations, and the "new" church, where most residents go to worship on Sundays. I say "slightly unique" because the practice of having an old and a "new" church is actually a fairly common in Greece. As the towns grow, the old churches become too small to accommodate for the amount of patrons visiting every week, and a new church is built.

In the center of town, of course, is the newer church - magnificent in its own right. It is covered from top to bottom with ornate sgraffito.

Not to be forgotten are all the smaller altars scattered around town, where villagers gather around and gossip during the day, and also escape the sun in the shade of the structure.

Pyrgi is a lovely, charming town - Highly recommended that you visit if you're ever visiting the Aegean islands, as Chios does have a lot to see if you have a few days to spare.

In my next post, I'll share some pictures of the next village we visted in Masticachoria; the enclosed castle town of Μεστά (Mesta)!