INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK AND PROTECTION OF … · Kastoria (in Greek: Καστορια) is one of...

ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑ Περιβάλλοντος και Πολιτισμού – Συμβούλιο Αρχιτεκτονικής Κληρονομιάς Προστασία Παραδοσιακών Οικισμών και Σύγχρονος Αρχιτεκτονικός Σχεδιασμός – Πρακτικά Ημερίδων

KASTORIA_PONCE de LEON ‐1‐ 16/05/2015

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK AND PROTECTION OF TRADITIONAL SETTLEMENTS – THE CASE OF KASTORIA, GREECE

Pedro Ponce de León, Ph.D. – Architect EUROPA NOSTRA & THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE DEVELOPMENT BANK -

“SEVEN MOST ENDANGERED HERITAGE SITES” Report funded by a grant from Council of Europe Development Bank through its

Spanish Social Cohesion Account

ABSTRACT

The recovery process of Dolcho and Apozari neighborhoods must be initiated through a SWOT analysis of his current situation and possibilities.

Once identified their strengths and weaknesses, problems, potential benefits and de-fined its objectives, it will be essential to explore, analyze and define the next para-graphs:

1. Urban spaces intervention and infrastructure development criteria.

2. Functional and management intervention criteria.

3. Buildings intervention criteria.

4. Define a summary of urgent actions, as:

4.1. Stop the urban spaces deterioration process and the building collapse.

4.2. Achieve its environmental improvement, increasing the attractiveness of liv-ing in the area.

4.3. Improve urban infrastructures and open spaces.

4.4. Accelerate the process of getting rehabilitation permissions from the authori-ties.

4.5. Merge the respect and preservation to historical elements and buildings with the improvement of energy saving and the rational use of resources.

4.6. Find ways to offset the negative impact of new taxes on real estate.

5. Settle a summary of different and innovative proposals.



ΕΙΣΗΓΗΣΗ

Forward – Brief description Kastoria (in Greek: Καστορια) is one of the fifty-one prefectures (nomes) of Greece. Its capital city is Kastoria, and its population was estimated at 51,934 inhabitants in the most recent census. The prefecture of Kastoria is located in the northwestern side of the Western Macedonia region of Greece. It is one of the most mountainous prefec-tures where there exist noteworthy prehistoric (Neolithic, see Dispilio), and byzantine monuments.

Apart from its high architectural and urban value, this Prefecture is a significant part of a region, with a huge diversity, with strong historical, geographical and archaeolog-ical value. The possibility of “natural” and water sports and other outdoor related and contact with nature increases its appeal. On the west of the Prefecture, in Gramos (1300m.), we find the springs of the biggest river in Greece, Aliakmonas; along the river banks, unique forests and hydrotopes are formed, differentiated according to the altitude. The unique Lake Orestiada virtually surrounds the city of Kastoria and re-mains in this part of Macedonia as a hospitable habitat for many endangered avifauna and fauna species.

There are eleven municipalities in the Kastoria Prefecture: Agia Triada, Agioi Anar-gyroi, Akrites, Arrenes, Gramos, Ion, Dragoumis, Kastoria, Kastraki, Kleisoura, Korestia, Makednos, Mesopotamia, Nestorio, Orestida and Vitsi.

The administrative core of this prefecture is the city of Kastoria. Built in a peninsula surrounded by the lake Orestiada, is about 520 kilometers away from Athens and 200 kilometers away from Thessaloniki. Kastoria and the surrounding are internationally known as centers of the manufacturing and trading of furs.

Fur manufacturing is very old; it dates back more than a thousand years; even nowa-days an important part of economic activity is related with furs.

Furthermore, rich elements of Byzantine culture (Byzantine Justinian walls and medi-eval churches) as well as traditional mansions of the 17th and 18th centuries, unique for their architectural design are located in the city center. Dolcho and Apozari neighbor-hoods are located at the east end of the city of Kastoria, which occupies an isthmus surrounded on three sides by the waters of Lake Kastoria or Orestiada.

The narrowest side of the isthmus conserves remains of the Justinian Walls (VIth C.) Human settlements in the area are much older, in the southern shore of the lake re-mains the Neolithic village of Dispilio, one of the most important in Europe.

Other urban places of interest are the different Museums, the Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches. The imposing mountains of Vitsi and Grammos, the Orestiada lake and the rich cultural heritage (Dispilio, Mavriotissa, Omorfoklissia...).

Nowadays, the population of the town is decreasing (it was in 1981, 20.661 inhab.; 1991, 14.775 inhab.; 2001, 14.813 inhab.; 2011, 13.387 inhabitants. (16.958 in the municipal unit). The customs and the tradition deserve the citizens’ attention and



support, preserve the vernacular culture and the values and the identity of the Prefec-ture. Other parties, festivities and local fairs (Dispilio, Prophet Elias, St. Paraskevi) held in Kastoria and its environment. The folklore, Fires of Christmas, the Carnivals of Argos Orestiko (with groups of disguised people called “Bouloukia”), are still be-ing celebrated.

Dolcho and Apozari neighborhoods are located in the western and oldest area of the city, with civil buildings erected mainly XVIIth and XVIIIth c. AD. Relevant reli-gious heritage (more than 30 churches from Xth. To XIXth.c. AD, some with unique byzantine frescoes). According to information provided to Europa Nostra1 by the city of Kastoria, in Dolcho and Apozari neighborhoods 351 of the remaining buildings are of private ownerships. The fact is that 25 of them are fully destroyed, 120 of them are in a bad situation, 146 are in a moderate state and only 60 of them are preserved.

The coordinates are Latitude: 40.52ºN. 21.27ºE. The medium altitude is: +705m. above the sea level.

In Dolcho and Apozari, the condition of the heritage and historic buildings is very dif-ferent. The churches are preserved generally in good condition, but much of the rest of the listed buildings, especially those closest to both shores of the lake (in part due to less resistant nature of the subsoil, coupled with neglect and disuse), are in very poor condition, so some only stay the remains of the walls, and there are several that are in critical condition for stability.

The historical-constructive, landscape and spatial environmental interest of these two neighborhoods, despite its progressive deterioration and abandonment, justifiably de-serves its inclusion in the category of one of the 7 most endangered sites in Europe 2014.

As in other European and Balkan heritage cities, it is necessary to recover the attrac-tive of the historic center through its revitalization, which necessarily involves the re-habilitation, renovation and enhancement of buildings, urban spaces.

Therefore, because of his progressive decay, it is clear that the recovery process and value both as Apozari and Dolcho must be accomplished by developing a stage plan that includes different phases and deadlines for action.

Furthermore, the first step must be to select specific areas, integrated in a "pilot pro-gramme”. In these areas there is a match with elements (urban spaces, infrastructures, churches, mansions) that could be applied in future interventions.

These areas must retain the laboratory character of previous initiatives. By assimilat-ing the successes and mistakes and possible solutions is possible to develop a "dy-namic" for the recovery of both neighbourhoods. This requires getting attractive living spaces for citizens, improving the quality of life and qualities of buildings and urban spaces. This takes time and a proper analysis and diagnosis of current reality.



Urban spaces intervention and infrastructure development criteria

Renewal of:

• Undeground:

• Sewage. (Review)

• Water Supply

• Electricity, Telecom, Data.

• Ground Level:

• Pavements.

• Public Lightning.

• Suppression Of Architectural Barriers: Ramps Placing Handrails On Stairs, Etc.

Functional and management intervention criteria. Changing the use of both public and private buildings; return to residential use and the possibility of other uses related to heritage.

• Recovery of the original mansion typology (craftsmen, traders), locating shop or warehouse on ground floor and housing on upper floors.

• Segregation of large residential buildings; conversion into smaller homes:single family homes into multifamily flats (100 m2), and apartments for youth and stu-dents (up to 50m2), in line with identified current needs.

• Social housing programme for families and young people promoted by admin-istrations refurbishing unused and abandoned homes.

• Training programmes for youngsters (arts and crafts) promoted by the public ad-ministrations that facilitate maintenance work or rehabilitation both public build-ings and spaces.

Buildings intervention criteria.

• Restoration of the mansions with conservation principles, taking into account their uniqueness

• Identification of works

• Using and promoting of traditional techniques by qualified professionals

• Energy rehabilitation and enhancement of buildings

Summary of urgent actions

• Stop the urban spaces deterioration process and the building collapse.

• Achieve its environmental improvement, increasing the attractiveness of living in



the area.

• Improve urban infrastructures and open spaces.

• Accelerate the process of getting rehabilitation permissions from the authorities.

• Merge the respect and preservation to historical elements and buildings with the improvement of energy saving and the rational use of resources.

• Find ways to offset the negative impact of new taxes on real estate.

Summary of proposals

1. Update the catalogue and inventory of listed buildings.

2. Undertake emergency actions to safeguard the integrity of mansions in danger of collapse.

3. Put in value and enhance public buildings.

4. Stimulate the use of traditional arts and crafts activities.

5. Promote the cross-sectorial cooperation among the different levels of the admin-istration.

6. Creation of a technical unit for rehabilitation (pilot implementation unit).

7. Generate a program of incentives for the private sector.

8. Create an incentive program from the public sector.

General conclusions The Historical, heritage and environmental value of some Balkan old cities, and also in the city of Kastoria (and in particular the Dolcho and Apozari neighborhoods), is exceptional and requires a series of actions to be implemented urgently.

His problems and current situation must be properly analyzed, based and studied on a SWOT analysis.

Both neighborhoods have a huge potential for development based on urban, environ-mental, natural and cultural richness of its environment. Byzantine churches and chapels are an essential part of this process; therefore a plan to improve its accessibil-ity and infrastructure must be prioritized and proposed, facilitating cultural-religious visit and preserving its character and heritage.

-It seems a large local demand for housing and business spaces in both neighbor-hoods, so an exemplary urban regeneration plan is considered possible. The imple-mentation of a program of social housing, and incentives for rehabilitation and reuse of the buildings would be successful.

It was also found that in Kastoria there are technical, well prepared companies, capa-ble to manage historical heritage; there are also responsible teams in the different administrations levels : Local, regional or state, and of course in the private field: pri-vate consultants, architects, engineers, construction companies, suppliers or artisans.



It has also detected a certain uneasiness and distrust of private owners regarding the possible intervention process, given its complexity and the uncertainty of the final outcome, as well as time and costs.

Therefore, private building owners in need should be helped to raise base measures of fiscal aid, promotion and development to add value and improve their buildings.

For it is necessary to establish a plan so that the residential, lodging and artisanal and small businesses is principal. (And undoubtedly, these uses are coherent, desirable and compatible in areas of historical value).

The implementation in Kastoria of a "Technical Office" able to guide the process is essential, both technically and administratively. (Pilot Implementation Unit, P.I.U.).

This Office, formed mostly by local technicians with external advisors will assume drafting, management, development and monitoring of projects and actions, with the necessary facilitation and dialogue with the administrative municipal, regional and state authorities.

In parallel, and also managed by the Local Technical Office, it is necessary to draft a Cultural Heritage Management Plan Integrated (CHIMP); this document that may meet the management needs of a city like Kastoria, with a rich and varied heritage.

This CHIMP must be conceived from a multidisciplinary approach (urban, architec-tural, tourist areas, mobility etc.), and participated by the civil sectors and inhabitants, with a method of analysis of feedback and continuous improvement.

The Historic buildings should be repaired with historical and reversibility criteria, in-cluding energy optimization and improved qualities of habitability, comfort and sus-tainability, making them competitive with the current standards of habitability (chang-ing the trend of migration of youth to the suburbs). On the other hand, when historic buildings are rehabilitated, the project can be used to train and qualify young people interested in renovation techniques: thus obtaining qualified workers for the future rehabilitation of historic buildings in the neighborhoods.

The Urban spaces must be preserved, but endowed not only with traditional materials, but also with updated infrastructure and signage, in order to make it more attractive, including exterior and interior lighting, signage and improved access to the churches.

The Government must drive the actions by his own example, providing facilitators of uses and buildings owned content, moving municipal offices currently leased to the mansions in Dolcho and Apozari of his property. The involvement of the governmen-tal bodies into the integrated approach allows for the chance to foster their aware-ness about both cultural heritage demands and development potentials in their re-spective fields and targets.

Similarly, the administration should be "catalyst" of other stakeholders (both public and private, task activities (see diagram)); by measures to promote investment de-scribed, these areas can become areas of high civil and commercial interest (hotels, professional offices, arts and crafts, etc.).

For all this, it is necessary to achieve fluency in the management and administrative procedures, operating mainstreaming and coordination of all actions



Moreover, is necessary to exchange knowledge and methodologies regarding similar experiences with organizations alike and other historical cities in the Balkans.

His development and management will ensure that a proper strategy based on the con-tinuous analysis of the successes and mistakes. this “integrated” approach will sup-port the protection of cultural heritage assets and the sustainable development of Dolcho and Apozari urban areas whilst respecting the social and economic inter-ests of its stakeholders.

To address the situation, it was considered appropriate to define two pilot areas in each of the districts as the initial proposal, by involving them to all stakeholders, pub-lic, private and the Orthodox Church also. Each one includes an area equivalent to 10% of the district to which it belongs, and both are linked with the lakeshore.

The development and improvement of pilot programs in the future will extend the ex-perience of rehabilitation to the rest of the city in a program of long-term investments. The total estimate for both neighborhoods is about2 10,2million€., 5,1M€ per area, VAT excluded.

To succeed, the recovery process Dolcho and Apozari neighborhoods should be un-dertaken in phases, given its size and complexity. These phases or stages should ex-tend over several years, with a plan of gradual investments as defined herein.

The recent European Commissioner of Education, Culture, Youth & Sport, Mr Tibor Navracsics, a Hungarian lawyer and political scientist, recently declared that 2015 should be a year for Culture, and ensured that the most important task is to "prepare the European integration of the countries of the Western Balkans". This commissioner has also the competences of the - Unit EAC E3 (Creative Europe Program - MEDIA) moves from DG EAC to DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology (CNECT).

According to international studies on tourism, in the case of other Mediterranean country (Spain), 2014 was a record, with 65 million tourists (+ 7.1%, in total more than 4.3 million in 2013) .A 37 % sought cultural tourism; and that percentage grows 15% per year3. In this context, intervention in Kastoria, because of its nature and purpose, could take advantage of these favorable circumstances and become a model project for research and development of management of historic centers in the Balkans.

Funding conclusions The basic funding conclusions can be summarized as follows:

• While the need to preserve cultural heritage is widely recognized, the availability of the financial resources to do so is often deficient. This is particularly the case in the poorer regions in Europe; moreover, the economic crisis has often reduced the budgetary allocations for culture in general and heritage conservation in particular. It has also made it more difficult to mobilize private funding sources.

• Contrary to what the presence of banking institutions in the “7 Most Endangered” cooperation may suggest, the desirable funding of most of the selected monuments



should NOT be simply based on (repayable) loans, but rather on a combination with grants, guarantees, donations, revenues and other non-repayable funding streams.

• The funding of the investment cost represents only one part of the overall funding need for preserving cultural heritage. The larger part over time are the regular op-erating and maintenance (O&M) costs; unfortunately these tend to be too often forgotten at the outset, perhaps also because the funding sources and the donors may be different for the investment and the O&M costs.

• EU grants which could inter alia support heritage projects are a priori available in the EU’s poorer “convergence regions”; the richer regions in the EU have less ac-cess to such grants, but may be more able to come up with some funding from own resources, given their higher income level.

1 See “Diorthoseis dhmou Kastorias”, ME2014_EL01_additionalinfo 2 See Ponce de Leon, Pedro (2014) p. 36,37,38. 3 See http://www.iet.tourspain.es/es-ES/Paginas/default.aspx

ΒΙΒΛΙΟΓΡΑΦΙΑ

1. CLAUSSE, G. Funding Sources for preserving Cultural Heritage Monuments and Sites, November 2013, ( See http://www.europanostra.org , http://www.europanostra.org; /UPLOADS/FILS/7ME-2013-EIBI-HeritageFundingOverview.pdf )

2. DOUKAS SAHINIS, A. The mansion of Nerantis Aivazis (Kastorian Museum of Folk-lore). Musical and literary society of Kastoria “Harmony”. 1985.

3. KIRIAKOUDIS, E. Monumental paintings in Kastoria in the last decades of the Thir-teen century and the frescoes at Arilje, Beograd, 1966.

4. MAKROGIANNOPOULOS, G. The Wall Paintings of Agios Athanasios of Mouzaki in Kastoria ( 1383/84 ) and Their Place in the Painting of the Period. MA 2001

5. MOUTSOPOULOS, N. Kastoria, Greek Traditional Architecture, edition of "Melissa" - Athens 1990-1991, vol. 7, pag. 94 - 158.

6. Project Conservation of the temple of Saint Stefanos” Hellenic Ministry of Culture. Vero-ia. 2008. ISBN: 978-960-214-813-6

7. PONCE DE LEON, P. Consultancy Services for the restoration and rehabilitation of Kastoria’s Dolcho and Apozari neighbourhoods. Kastoria, Greece. Europa Nostra & the Council of Europe Development Bank. “Seven most endangered heritage sites”. Kasto-ria, Greece. 2014.

8. SISIOU, I. The Painting Throughout The 13th Century In Saint Stefanos Of Kastoria. (http://www.ni.rs/byzantium/doc/zbornik5/PDF-V/Janis%20Sisju.pdf) Unpublished Ac-ademic Literature from the Department of Theology of the Faculty of Theology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki



9. TSIGARIDAS, E. La peinture a Kastoria et en Macedoine grecque occidentale vers l’ année 1200. Studenica et l’ art Byzantin autour de l’ année 1200. Beograd 1988. pp 309- 313.

10. TSIGARIDAS, E. Kastoria throuh past and present times. ThessPrint S.A. 2012.Municipality of Kastoria. ISBN 978-960-99675-1-8.

11. TSIGARIDAS, E. Integrated Management of Historic Towns. Guidebook for South East Europe. European Values in Heritage. November 2012. Production with the assistance of the European Union.

12. TSIGARIDAS, E. Monasteries of Kastoria. Prefecture of Kastoria. November 2008. TO DONTI editions. www.todonti.gr

13. ICOMOS. General guidance to be taken into account in the management plans for his-toric cities.

14. The network of Historic City Centers in Southeast Europe; general information

Brief description of similar cases, strategies; some European touristic organizations concerned.

The Project European Values in Heritage. EVAH: Four historic cities in the west-ern Balkans: Ioanninna (GREECE), Girokastra (ALBANIA), Prizren (KOSO-VO), Ohrid (FYROM); (http://www.euheritagevalues.org/ ,http://www.euheritagevalues.org/portal/.

European Tourism Policy developments. (http://www.necstour.eu/ )



IMAGES

Image 1 - Aerial general view of Kastoria.

Image 2 - Aerial view of Kastoria and Dispilio (red arrow)



Image 3 - Dispilio.General view of eco-museum. (4 kms.. far from Dolcho, 75.000 visitors/year)

Image 4 - Omorfokilissia Byzantine Church



Image 5 - Mavriotissa Byzantine monastery

Image 6 - Dolcho and Apozari neighborhoods location



Image 7 - Dolcho: Emmanuel Mansion. Traditional costumes museum. Left, at the bottom of the image, Bassarasti Mansion.

Image 8 - Efficient and integrated public lightening proposal

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK AND PROTECTION OF … · Kastoria (in Greek: Καστορια) is one of...

Documents

Transcript of INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK AND PROTECTION OF … · Kastoria (in Greek: Καστορια) is one of...