This year’s Festival Routes in Marpissa came to a close in an atmosphere of joy and nostalgia, having been held for the 15th consecutive year in the picturesque traditional settlement. From 22 to 24 August, hundreds of visitors wandered through the maze-like paved alleys of the village, this time following the steps of photographer and…

The ghost of a forsaken woman from a 1960s Greek film still haunts the Municipal building of Paros. A wandering peddler walks through the alleys of Marpissa, crying out his wares—odds and ends drawn from folk tradition. A hike along the Byzantine trail of Lefkes draws on folkloric records of enchantments, offerings, and the decorative…

With a title inspired by the series of books Paros, Clumsy Drawings by photographer and folk-art researcher Zacharias Stellas, the 15th Routes in Marpissa festival returns this year on August 22, 23, and 24. Taking as its reference point Stellas’s invaluable work, this year’s theme invites us to travel back to a time when spontaneous…

The short documentary “Don’t Break My Stones, stories from the Parian katikes,” produced as part of the project “Study and Promotion of Everyday Life in the Parian ‘Katikia’,” by the Non-Profit Organization “Routes in Marpissa,” is now accessible on the organization’s YouTube and Vimeo channels. The documentary, directed by Katerina Patroni in 2021, follows the…

Digital tours, atmospheric concerts, exciting workshops, contemporary art works, and experiential activities that provided food for thought were some of the highlights of the 14th "Routes in Marpissa" Festival, held this year with the theme of the elements of nature, on the island of Paros. For three days, from August 23rd to 25th, a strong…

In her text "Ecofeminism as decolonial and transindividual ecology”, philosopher Chiara Bottici discusses the need to rethink the perception of nature as a mere provider of "raw material" that must be subjugated to the capitalist mode of production, as well as the very separation between "living" and "non-living matter." She focuses on the transindividual idea…

“Homelands! Air, earth, water, fire!  Elements unbroken and the beginning and end of all creatures (…)”*  Kostis Palamas   The elements of nature, the source of life, eternal allies, and sometimes adversaries of humanity have always shaped our journey on earth. Fire, air, earth, and water, universal symbols and driving forces of civilization, inspire the…

Research in the context of the festival “Routes in Marpissa” by the Department of Tourism Studies of the University of Piraeus. The research was conducted in August 2023 by the Department of Tourism Studies of the University of Piraeus, under the scientific supervision of Professors Dr. Georgia Zouni, Assistant Professor of Tourism Marketing and Dr.…

In a traditional walk with tsambouna and tumbaki music and an authentic Cycladic feast with Nikos Economides and Kyriaki Spanou, which lasted until early in the morning, the 13th festival “Routes in Marpissa” was completed on Sunday, August 27, saying goodbye to the last weekend of summer. As every year, the "protagonist" was Marpissa, even…

“What is born out of the ground? The stones are burning in July, my eyes are burning too.” *   As the lime melds the Cycladic forms into a harmonious expanse of purest white – an embodiment of the Greek summer – the bleach, employed to cleanse the spaces awaiting eager visitors, silently infiltrates the…