School of Fine Arts of Panormos, Tinos

PREPARATORY AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS OF PANORMOS, TINOS

The School was created with the aspiration to preserve and perpetuate the tradition of marble craftsmanship, and to rescue, cultivate and develop the artistic talent of young individuals. The aims of the School are to provide students with professional training in the field of Marble Craftsmanship. Today, the graduates are esteemed professionals, artists, or academic instructors.

Tinos, and in particular Pyrgos, has been the most important Neohellenic Marble Art Centre in Greece, which has been inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List since 2015. Why Pyrgos? The area with its barren soil was rich in white, grey and green marble and so many quarries were created. The art of marble was passed down from father to son and gradually great marblers and famous artists emerged. They left their mark all over Greece, Asia Minor, Constantinople, Romania, southern Russia and Egypt.

During its heyday, at the beginning of the 20th century, Pyrgos had about 500 marble workers and 100 quarrymen. In the 19th century, the dominant position of marble in the construction of the new capital and other cities caused the Tinian marble workers to leave and open large marble carving workshops – mainly in Athens. Already in the 1830s they were working in the quarries of Penteli and in the construction of the Palace of the Palace. In Athens and in other Greek cities – such as Piraeus, Ermoupolis, Patras, Kalamata, Chalkida, Thessaloniki, Rhodes), the Tinian marble workers left their mark on neoclassical mansions, churches, cemeteries and on the restoration of ancient monuments. From them and their descendants came great names of modern Greek sculpture.

Most photos: Έβελυν Φωσκόλου