Siatista
Encyclopedia
Siatista is a town and a former municipality
in Kozani peripheral unit, West Macedonia
, Greece
. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Voio
, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It lies 28 km southwest of the city Kozani
. It was built on the austral slope of the Velia mountain on an (average) height of 930 m. The first name of the city was Kalyvia, because the city was known for its huts. This name is referenced in the archives of the Zavordas Monastery.
s and churches with wonderful frescos and icons.
Siatista lies in a unique setting where its mountains and wilderness provide a strong sense of solitude. The Siatistan merchants moved abroad temporarily when they were forced out by the morass the Greek market (source?) had become and returned with material and intellectual wealth. Their famous mansions have very strong walls, imposing doors, lavishly decorated and elegant ondas, gorgeous stained glass, and lively colours of the folk paintings on the walls. All of this embodies a high standard of living for an isolated town.
In 1888 Ioannes Trampatzes, an expatriate Greek merchant in Romania, provided the funds for the Trampatzeion Gymnasium. The gymnasium housed two large libraries, the Manouseios with 5,000 tomes and the Roussopouleios with 2,000 tomes.
Siatista was liberated from the Ottoman Turks by the Greek army, on November 4, 1912.
Communities and Municipalities of Greece
For the new municipalities of Greece see the Kallikratis ProgrammeThe municipalities and communities of Greece are one of several levels of government within the organizational structure of that country. Thirteen regions called peripheries form the largest unit of government beneath the State. ...
in Kozani peripheral unit, West Macedonia
West Macedonia
West Macedonia is one of the thirteen regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Greek Macedonia. It is divided into the regional units of Florina, Grevena, Kastoria, and Kozani.-Geography:...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Voio
Voio (municipality)
Voio is a municipality in the Kozani peripheral unit, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Siatista. It was named after the Voio mountains.-Municipality:...
, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It lies 28 km southwest of the city Kozani
Kozani
Kozani is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani regional unit and of West Macedonia region. It is located in the western part of Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmonas river valley...
. It was built on the austral slope of the Velia mountain on an (average) height of 930 m. The first name of the city was Kalyvia, because the city was known for its huts. This name is referenced in the archives of the Zavordas Monastery.
History
In 1745, the city is referenced in a formal document of Joseph, Patriarch of Ohrid. The commercial ties between Siatista and many European countries during 17th and 18th centuries were very successful, and allowed the inhabitants to build many mansionMansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
s and churches with wonderful frescos and icons.
Siatista lies in a unique setting where its mountains and wilderness provide a strong sense of solitude. The Siatistan merchants moved abroad temporarily when they were forced out by the morass the Greek market (source?) had become and returned with material and intellectual wealth. Their famous mansions have very strong walls, imposing doors, lavishly decorated and elegant ondas, gorgeous stained glass, and lively colours of the folk paintings on the walls. All of this embodies a high standard of living for an isolated town.
In 1888 Ioannes Trampatzes, an expatriate Greek merchant in Romania, provided the funds for the Trampatzeion Gymnasium. The gymnasium housed two large libraries, the Manouseios with 5,000 tomes and the Roussopouleios with 2,000 tomes.
Siatista was liberated from the Ottoman Turks by the Greek army, on November 4, 1912.
Celebrations
- August 15 - Assumption of MaryAssumption of MaryAccording to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
- The male inhabitants of Siatista parade with their horses down to a chapel in the plain and return with the icon of the PanagiaPanagiaPanagia , also transliterated Panayia or Panaghia, is one of the titles of Mary, the mother of Jesus, used especially in Orthodox Christianity....
. In the feast and party that ensues the men dance on the backs of their horses. The local wine flows freely, even for their equine friends.
- December 23 - Κλαδαριές (Klatharies) - On this day the inhabitants gather brush from the surrounding area. Each neighbourhood group builds tall, (three to six metres), conical shaped mounds that are decorated sparsely with balloons and tinsel. After nightfall a parade, including a brass band playing local music, begins at the lower town, Γεράνια (Yerania). In succession each mound of brush is set afire as the parade reaches the neighbourhood. The inhabitants then dance around the fires. Many of the village youth then stay up all night around the remnants of the bonfires to start carollingCarol (music)A carol is a festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with church worship, and often with a dance-like or popular character....
early in the morning of Christmas Eve, collecting money while singing door to door.