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Chios is fifth biggest island of Greece, known for the cultivation of mastic and superb seafaring skills of the inhabitants since ancient times. The mastic tree grows all over the Mediterranean. However, only the special variety in Chios is the one that is producing the natural resin called mastic. Due to the climatic conditions this variety grows only in the southern part of the island. The skills of the mastic growers and the traditional production led the Chian mastic to be inscribed in the Unesco intangible cultural heritage list. Our storytakes us to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, the French Revolution and the Greek War of Independence in 1821.

The Places

Nea Moni

Listed as world heritage monument in 1990 mainly because of its set of mosaics deriving from the ‘second golden age of Byzantine art', Nea Moni, the New Monastery, has been built by the masters of the imperial school of art in Constantinople during the ages of mightiness and prosperity. The Monastery was founded in the middle of the 11th century by the Emperor Constantine IX. During the Genoese dominion (1346-1566) the monastery received pilgrims and faithful, who came to worship Virgin Mary. In 1822, during the Greek War of Independence, the Turkish troops burned and plundered the Monastery troops. In 1881 a strong earthquake destroyed the buildings of the complex. Restored to its former glory today, Nea Moni is again today a heritage symbol linked to the island of Chios.

Anavatos

Anavatos is an un-inhabited byzantine tower-village in the center of Chios. Due to its location on a large granite rock at the end of a cliff, it towers majestically above the surrounding area. Tradition has it that the first settlers were the woodcutters who came to build the new convent of Nea Moni at the request of Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomachus. In exchange they requested him to give them this land to settle a village. Pirate raids were later on to ravish the village many times, but still the people rebuilt it again. Anavatos is directly linked with the Greek War of Independence in 1821 and the massacre of Chios in 1822 by the Turks.

Avgonima

Avgonima is a medieval village located on a rocky hill just 16 kilometers from the city of Chios. Together with the neighboring Anavatos, is the oldest fortified village, and according to the tradition it was created by the workers who built the majestic monastery of Nea Moni in the 11th century and then remained in Chios. Avgonima is built as a fortified settlement. The houses are built of stone with small windows, mainly aiming to be protected from pirate raids. In the center of the village with the square around are small residences arranged, their outer side is forming the protective wall.

Seaward Castle of Chios

The castle of Chios was constructed in the 10th century by the Byzantine Emperors. The structures surviving to this day are part of later construction and expansion dated to the time when the Genoese ruled the island from 1346 until 1556. During this period, Chios was administrated by Maona, a commercial company. Since 1362, the heads of the company belonged to a nobility union, with commercial interests, the Giustinianis. In 1556 the forces of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman occupied the island. In 1694, the Venetians captured the island for a brief period of 6 months. Then the Turks came back and ruled until 1912, when Chios was liberated and became part of Greece.

Mesta

The mastic villages have been added to the representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO. Mesta is a traditional medieval village 35 km from the city of Chios. It belongs to the Mastic Villages, a group of villages in Southern Chios, where the main activity is the manufacture of mastic. Mesta is characterized by particular architecture since it is a fortified village with perfectly preserved medieval architecture. Its elaborate architecture dates back to the Byzantine and Genoese period. The village is built like a castle. The houses were built one right next to the other, thereby creating a protective wall surrounding the village.

Olympoi

Olympoi, is one of the 21 medieval mastic villages of Chios added to the representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO. During the Genoese period (1346-1566), the village as well as the rest of the Mastic villages have exported the precious mastic to both the East and the West. This made the place an attractive target for pirates, so at that time, the village was surrounded by a wall of 5 meters high (7 meters with the loopholes) which had 4 towers. The entrance and the exit were made by a single door, which is still preserved.

Piop Mastic Museum

The Chios Mastic Museum lies close to Pyrgi, the main medieval mastic village of Southern Chios. The 21 medieval villages in Southern Chios, build the only territory in the Mediterranean where the mastic tree is cultivated, an endemic variety of the pistacia lentiscus plant from which mastíha (gum mastic) is produced. The Chios Mastic Museum aims to showcase the production history of the mastic tree’s cultivation and the processing of its resin, which it integrates into the cultural landscape of Chios and is included into the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Pyrgi

The mastic villages of Chios have been added to the representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO. Pyrgi stands out from the other mastic villages due to the original façade of the stone houses, which mostly consist of stunning grey and white decorative motives in geometrical and floral shapes. The roads are narrow and covered with arches or vaults. In the middle of the village there is a tower with a height of 18 meters. Around it, there are walls with four towers in the corners. Τhe stone houses of Pyrgi are built close to each other, forming a defensive wall. Narrow stone-paved streets, churches, unique architecture and balconies full of flowers and sun-dried tomatoes, make up the magical scenery of the village. Christopher Columbus was stationed in Chios before he set off across the Atlantic and the locals can point out his house.

Kampos

Kampos is the continuation of the city of Chios to the south, which began in the years of Genoese domination (1346-1566). The Genoese introduced the systematic cultivation of citrus trees as well as the export trade of their fruits. The harmonious combination of residence and production created an unrivalled milieu for life and work. Foreign travelers who visited Chios give enthusiastic descriptions of the lush gardens and the grand country houses they met. Kampos survived to our days, with its citrus trees, water wells and enclosure walls intact.

Korais Public Library

The “Adαmantios Korais Historic Public Library” was created in 1792 as part of the Great School of the Nation in Chios. The library is one of the largest libraries in Greece with a collection of 250,000 volumes. The first books were donations of the distinguished scholar Adamantios Korais and his circle of the Enlightenment. With continuous donations and purchases, the library now has more than 250,000 volumes. An invaluable treasure of the library is the donation of Napoleon Bonaparte in honor of Adamantios Korais "Déscription de l'Egypte", consisting of 14 illustrated volumes (version 1809-1822).

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Chios Cultural Narrative

by Dorothea Papathanasiou

Created by Aldo Di Russo

Art Director: Mauro Scaramella

Executive Producer: Artifactory