Project Description
Tsepelovo
48 kilometers away from Ioannina, at the foot of Mount Tymfi, is situated the village of Tsepelovo. It is the largest village in Zagori, with 500 inhabitants. Tsepelovo was created in today’s area in the 14th century when the old settlement of Tsepelovo and the existing small settlements of the area, merged into one united settlement.
It evolved culturally and economically in the 18th and 19th century, when the special privileges of the Zagori region, combined with the migration of many of its inhabitants abroad that succeeded in commerce activities, raised the economy of the village. This resulted in the operation of several schools, the upgrading of education, as well as the building of many mansions, churches, bridges, etc
The special significance of the people of Tsepelovo for education seems to have operated as asylum for the poet John Vilaras (his tomb lies in Tsepelovo) as well as the great Enlightener Athanasios Psalidas, who taught for two years in the village school. Both of them were chased by Ali Pasha chased. Additionally, it was not by accident the fact that just before the revolution of 1821, the decision of establishing a University was taken at the Monastery of “Saint Yannis Rongovou”.
One of the many examples of the great cultural acupuncture of Tsepelovo is the central church of Saint Nikolaos which is a “Live Museum” of hagiography with whole drawings covering all the surfaces of the temple, created by Zagorian hagiographers. The preservation of the hagiographies made this church a monument of art.
Many mansions that have survived to date reveal the unique folk architecture that dominates in Zagori. Several bridges around the village, usually made from benevolence, indicate the great love of the people of Tsepelovo for their homeland. Their way of construction can teack how interventions in the natural environment can adjust to it, and not destroy it.
