A “haunted” village in Greece and the couple who brought resurrection

A village in the north of Corfu is a unique case of reconstruction and use, after it recovered from its state of abandonment, receiving honorable mentions in an article. Guardian Two years ago.

About 40 km from Corfu Town, The Old lady One of the smaller villages in the interior of the island. When tourism began to take over the island in the 60s, the village was abandoned by the people. They scattered towards the coast Be serious about the new business.

“Ghost” village

For many years the old Perithia was a desolate place, but in recent years the remaining residents have begun to believe, as some of the restaurants and rooms in the village have begun to attract the attention of more “alternative” tourists. Carfusterias.

With houses dating back to the 14th century, Corfu's oldest settlement. Built to protect against pirate attacks, it sits atop the island's highest mountain, Pantokrator, surrounded by dense forests and overlooking the Ionian Sea towards Albania.

The Guardian reporter recounts his experience of the visit, an island landscape of blue water and olive trees giving way to a semi-mountainous canvas of Halebo pines and cool breezes descending from the edges.

A couple who “resurrected” the village

After his arrival, the journalist met Mark from Britain and Saskia from the Netherlands. When the two of them visited Old Perithia in 2009, they were mesmerized by its historic beauty and saddened. An abandoned filmSo they set about restoring at least part of it.

They thus renovated and converted the sprawling complex of attached properties into the luxurious Merchants House Hotel. “We thought this one redevelopment would act as a catalyst. If we could show that there were opportunities, we could attract older residents,” Mark said.

And according to plan, they started first Lots of tourists will come They sought peace and quiet in the hills away from the hum of the country, while interest in the project grew, The original inhabitants also began to return of old Perythia.

This recent renaissance has allowed two bars to operate very successfully, while the village's infrastructure and houses have been cleaned up and add to the picturesque ensemble, even if uninhabited.

When Mark and Saskia arrived, only about 10% of the houses were livable. Today it's 35% and rising, thanks to the “surgical” restoration process that oversees it Central Archaeological Council of GreeceIt characterizes the village “Historical monument”.

Catastrophe fire

Unfortunately, the magnificent landscape surrounding old Perithea was lost in a devastating fire last summer, after the negligence of local institutions and administration, in the area around Pantokradoras Mountain.

It also registers as KerchrasimeraA fire at the end of June 2023 completely engulfed the surrounding forest, destroying the small church of Agios Athanasios at the entrance to the village. Threatened many new and protected homesIt was saved by the efforts of the residents.

Then the residents complained The outrageous negligence of the municipal administration, It has ignored calls from the community for years to complete fire protection works and strengthen existing structures such as the area's water supply.

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