Our land

• Main Author: Maria Vidali
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Urban Transcripts 2020-11-01
• Series: Urban Transcripts
• Subjects: kampos; tinos; greece; narrative; fictional narrative; village architecture; farming landscape; land
• Online Access: http://journal.urbantranscripts.org/article/our-land-maria-vidali/

This article focuses on a small community in the village of Kampos, on the Greek island of Tinos in Greece. In studying the history of the island of Tinos and its villages, it becomes evident that the relationship of the villagers to the land and the landscape is vital for an understanding of the architecture and of daily life. Hierarchy and the allocation of land plays an important role. What is life like for the inhabitants of a farming landscape? This cannot be answered only through architectural drawings, or by studying descriptions of the village’s architecture nor by analyzing anthropological references. Through narratives that bring out the reality of the village, one becomes aware of the value of metaphor as the natural language of a communal life that is inextricably connected to the natural, built environment, which in turn is connected to ownership and a different perception of the value of land.