The project is co-funded by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund) through the Operational Program “Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning, NSRF 2014-2020″.
Around 1844 the house passed into the ownership of Dimitrios Argyriadis, son of the local schoolmaster Argyrios Paparizos and one of the most important scholars and educators of the 19th century. Dimitrios Argyriadis carried out reconstruction work on the mansion between 1844 and 1846. The original floor plan of the mansion, which most probably bore the basic morphological characteristics of the 18th-century mansions of Siatista, was probably changed by Dimitrios Argyriadis himself to serve the needs of his family. In the western part of the house only the ground floor was preserved, while in the southern part the first floor was also preserved. It cannot be accurately documented until when did Dimitrios Argyriadis live in this house and under what circumstances it ultimately passed into the hands of the Maliogas family.
In 1965 the mansion was declared a historical monument (Government Gazette 618/B/17-9-1965) and in 1979 it was acquired by the Ministry of Culture. In the following years, restoration work was carried out mainly in the framework of the EU co-funded project ” RESTORATION OF THE Mansion of the Archontiko Maliogas of Siatista” (3rd CSF) and the entire fresco decoration was conserved.
The entrance of the mansion is located on a small side street and not from the central square of Chora. A double wooden door, secured by a wooden beam and protected by a gable roof, led to a small paved courtyard. This was probably where the mansion’s auxiliary rooms for daily work were located. Today only the water well is preserved. A low wall marks the boundaries of the small courtyard of the mansion where another house was later built. Access today is also possible through the courtyard of the Hatzigiannidis-Nerantzopoulos mansion.
The ground floor has a central area and around it are formed five rooms. The ” good room ” on the right of the entrance with its large sitting area stands out, where the family and their guests can rest while admiring the impressive frescoes. To the left of the main entrance, there’s a double room that served as a kitchen and dining room. A wooden staircase leads to the first floor of the mansion, which consists of a hall and a room with a fireplace. The house also had an underground cellar, which could be accessed either from the ground floor or through a small door in the courtyard.
Colorful frescoes decorate the walls of the mansion inside and outside, as well as the wooden paneling. Geometric designs, floral and vegetable decorations, landscapes with animals, birds and hunters, European soldiers and depictions of cities are just some of the subjects painted on the frescoes. On the ground floor the portraits of the Tsar of Russia Nicholas I, the national hero Regas Velestinlis and Otto, the first king of the independent Greek state, stand out.
The depiction of Frankfurt in the “good room” on the ground floor is equally impressive. The rendering of the local artist for this fresco was based on an engraving of Johann Balthassar Probst, which was probably brought by Siatistians returning from their long journeys to Central Europe.
EPHORATE OF ANTIQUITIES OF KOZANI
Archaeological Museum of Aiani
50150, Aiani Kozani
efakoz [at] culture.gr
The project is co-funded by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund) through the Operational Program “Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning, NSRF 2014-2020″.
