Virtual Tour

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Artwork in harmony with the environment. The “Kserolithies” literally meaning “dry stones” are an integral part of our cultural heritage.

Perfectly connected to the Aegean landscape. Walls made with stones placed next to or on top of each other without connecting material, only with wedges. Their wild beauty creates admiration on how man managed to fight against the forces of nature and transform the barren slopes into arable land, through a rational use of the environment to his advantage. The Andros stone walls have a unique building style: the horizontal building line of stones is interrupted by large plates which are fully integrated into the wall and often protrude over it. This interesting feature of the stone walls of Andros is called “stimata “(plural). Large stone slabs placed vertically into the soil, supporting the wall like columns. Smaller stones where then placed around it “holding” the wall until the next “stima “(single). This is a highly durable way of construction. So in harmony with nature and stones as the main material, the “aimasies” or “pezoules” (terraces) where built, as well as the stone huts, shelters for people and animals, roads, walls, water mills, windmills, bridges, etc. … and as the color of the stone is matching the surrounding rocks, you cannot distinguish human construction to nature. Creations that impress for the incredible manual labor required for their completion. But in addition to their great cultural value, their role in the conservation of the unique biodiversity of Andros is equally important.