Pýrgos

Okay gang, I’ve been easy on you with this blog. Not many churches, not many museums, not much history, not much education. Well, guess what? Museum and education time.
Today I went to the Museum of Marble Crafts. Yep, today we talk stone! I took my trusty little car and drove across the island. Yes, that’s right up hill, down hill, around the mountain and pretty much any other twisty, blind curve road you can think of. The views were amazing! I made it to a little town called Pyrgos to see the museum.

Apparently, Tinos is a huge marble producer from way, way back. Let’s go back to the 4th century BC. This is when the first record of marble from Tinos is documented for use in the sanctuary of Poseidon and the Amphitrite of Kionia. Through to the 2nd century AD the Romans used the Tinian marble and even exported some for use in their buildings. There is documentation of statues being made from Tinian marble all the way through the 12th century AD. During the Venetian Rule (12th to the 17th century, aren’t you feeling smarter already?) many sculptures and homes used marble from here. This kept the trade alive and was influenced by the Venetian culture as well. The Catholic Church also kept the tradesmen busy for centuries

Another interesting topic is how the marble itself gets mined. There are several colours of marble in Tinos from the white marble we all know to a green marble as well. There are pinks, greys and browns too. Back in the day they used wedges and hammers to separate the marble, now a days they actually use gunpowder to create fissures and then break the marble apart. When it gets to the next stage, steel wires on a huge machine slice the marble into sheets. It was pretty impressive. It is also very labour intensive. The marble pits are owned by families. They parse out claims on sections of marble and then they start to mine it. These plots are handed down in the family from father to son. (Or father-in-law to son-in-law). The craft itself is also handed down through the males in the family. This is a right of passage and one family has seven generations of master marble craftsmen. This was a fascinating place to go and they had a mixture of reading and videos to show you how labour intensive this process is from mining to sculpting. There is a school in Tinos that teaches young people the craft. Now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?

The island is beautiful! This side of the island is starker with less vegetation but the views of the sea are everywhere. As you drive you see small villages built into the hillside. The other interesting thing here are what they call ‘dove coves’. These are structures that are built for doves to nest in. Apparently, they’re poop is used in construction and they are tasty to eat. I have a picture of one.Read more