SAMOS

Παρουσίαση

The islands of the eastern Aegean have always held a rather unique place in Greece as a whole. Their geographic position forced them into the role of being a bridge between two different worlds. Thus they have always been the point of contact between two relatively different cultural traditions, i.e., the island culture of the central Aegean and the mainland culture of Asia Minor opposite. At the same time each of these islands has always had its own hidden resources enabling it to assimilate these traditions and to combine them creatively and even to give an original form to the result of that combination. Samos is not an exception to this rule. Indeed, in the area of anonymous architecture the above combination has resulted in something that is probably unique in the south Balkans. The two traditions have been bound together so closely that each has reinforced the other.
This fact, together with a series of historical events and in combination with the richness of the natural environment, gave the Samian settlements an impressive quality. Furthermore, there is the fact that because of the post-war economic depression the usual, one-sided, misconstrued and frequently illogical development which we have met elsewhere did not take place on this island· this has to a great degree kept the island unchanged up till the present day.
Taking this into consideration, and combining it with our painfully won knowledge of the detrimental repercussions of development along with the ever increasing interest in traditional values, certainly gives us some hope for the ultimate fate of these islands. Unfortunately, however, there is a dark side to the future too. We view the recent touristic interest in Samos with trepidation, and fear that it will lead at an increasingly accelerated rate to the destruction of all those features of the human environment which determined the historical continuity, the identity and the uniqueness of this place. It is probable that this island will not in the final analysis be able to escape the common fate of so many other Greek areas. (From the publisher)

Περιεχόμενα

Preface
Samos - Konstantinos S. Papaioannou, architect
The Settlements
The Dwelling
The Flat-Roof Houses
The House with a Hipped Roof
The Pyrgoi (Towers)
The Archondika (Mansions)
Bibliography
Glossary
Photographs
Plans and Drawings