Greece: Vernacular Design

Always more beautiful than it needs to be: Joyful place-based flourishes across Greek architecture, craft and culture

GEOMETRY LESSON

My Greek sister in law, Kelly Flamos, whose family lives in Chios, introduced me to the painted village of Pyrgi, where black and white geometric shapes and intricate patterns cover every available surface area of the built landscape— facades, pillars, balconies, undersides of arches, the interior of churches, and on and on, you name it, it’s decorated.

Dating back to the mid 1800s, this distinct style of decoration is called xysta (which roughly translates to “scratched”) and is achieved by using a tool (often a fork!) to scrape away layers of white plaster, exposing a contrasting color beneath. Many of the existing craftsmen who continue to use this technique to repair or create new designs have learned the craft from relatives and won’t accept money as payment.