18 Aug Traditional dovecotes
Posted at 11:34h
in landscape of Tinos
Their tradition dates back to the Venetian period when the systematic breeding of pigeons, for their meat and droppings (used as fertilizers), was first introduced. Most dovecotes were built in cultivated areas with access to water, close to ravines, and in hill slopes. They are imposing buildings, made of local slate, with decorated facades carrying various geometrical and free form shapes such as triangles, rhomboids, squares, suns, cypress trees and other. These vernacular architectural monuments are expressions of popular artistic creation unique in the world.
Their ground floor was used as a storage room for agricultural, live-stock products and tools while the upper floors were for the pigeons.
