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METEORA
During the fearsome time of political instability in 14th century Thessaly, monasteries were systematically built on top of the inaccessible peaks so that by the end of the 15th century there were 24 of them. They continued to flourish until the 17th century. Today, only four monasteries - Aghios Stephanos, Aghia Trias, Varlaam and Meteoron - still house religious communities. The area includes forested hills and river valley with riverine forests of Platanus orientalis and species such as the endemic Centaurea lactifolia (found near Koniskos village) and Centaurea kalambakensi. The nearest protected area is Trikala Aesthetic Forest (28 ha), created in 1979, which has been planted with Pinus halepensis and Cupressus sempervivens. The potential vegetation cover is described as supra-Mediterranean, with climax cover of Quercus and Ostrya species and Fagus sylvatica beech forest above 700 m. click here to go BACK TO THE ITINERARY |
'Suspended
in the air' (the meaning of Meteora in Greek), these monasteries represent
a unique artistic achievement and are one of the most powerful examples of
the architectural transformation of a site into a place of retreat,
meditation and prayer. The Meteora provide an outstanding example of the
types of monastic construction which illustrate a significant stage in
history, that of the 14th and 15th centuries when the eremitic ideals of
early Christianity were restored to a place of honour by monastic
communities, both in the Western world (in Tuscany, for example) and in
the Orthodox Church.
Built
under impossible conditions, with no practicable roads, permanent though
precarious human habitations subsist to this day in the Meteora, but have
become vulnerable under the impact of time. The net in which intrepid
pilgrims were hoisted up vertically alongside the 373 m cliff where the
Varlaam monastery dominates the valley symbolizes the fragility of a
traditional way of life that is threatened with extinction.
The
monasteries are built on rock pinnacles of deltaic origin, known as
Meteora, which rise starkly over 400 m above the Peneas valley and the
small town of Kalambaka on the Thessalian plain. Chemical analysis
suggests that the pinnacles were created some 60 million years ago in the
Tertiary period, emerging from the cone of a river and further transformed
by earthquakes. The Meteora are enormous residual masses of sandstone and
conglomerate which appeared through fluvial erosion. Seismic activity
increased the number of fault lines and fissures and hewed the shapeless
masses into individual sheer rock columns. Hermits and ascetics probably
began settling in this extraordinary area in the 11th century. In the late
12th century a small church called the Panaghia Doupiani or Skete was
built at the foot of one of these 'heavenly columns', where monks had
already taken up residence.