Papingo (, also transcribed as Papigko, Papigo) is a former community (1919-2010) in the Ioannina regional unit,

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform (the so-called Kallikratis Law) it has become part of the municipality of

Zagori Zagori (; ), is a region, a municipality, and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, in northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Asprangeloi. It has an area of some and contains 46 v ...

, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 34.131 km². It is located in the

Vikos–Aoös National Park The Vikos–Aoös National Park ( ''Ethnikós Drymós Víkou–Aóou'') is a national park in the region of Epirus (region), Epirus in northwestern Greece. The park, founded in 1973, is one of ten National parks of Greece, national parks in main ...

. Papingo consists of two villages: Megalo Papingo (Greek: Μεγάλο Πάπιγκο) and Mikro Papingo (Greek: Μικρό Πάπιγκο), ''greater'' and ''lesser'' Papingo. There is a single road that provides access first to Megalo Papingo and a kilometre further to Mikro Papingo.

Geography

The village of Papingo is located very near the northern end of the

Vikos Gorge The Vikos Gorge or Vikos Canyon () is a gorge in the Pindus Mountains of northwestern Greece. It lies on the southern slopes of Mount Tymphe with a length of about 32 km, depth ranging from 120 to 1350 m, and a width ranging from 2500 m to ...

and is inside the

. It attracts many hikers and mountaineers from around the world. The

is the largest canyon in Greece and arguably in all of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

: it is the gorge with the greatest depth to width ratio, according to the Guinness Book of Records 1997. The village of Papingo is surrounded by deciduous forests and topped by the snowcapped Astraka peak of Mt Tymphe, that towers over the village. It has modest lodging provisions as well as

taverna A taverna (; ) is a small Greek restaurant that serves Greek cuisine. The taverna is an integral part of Greek culture and has become familiar to people from other countries who visit Greece, as well as through the establishment of tavernes ...

s serving traditional food, coffee, and spirits. The climate of the region is

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

transitioning to Continental with heavy snowfalls in the winter and considerable rainfall and humidity also during the other seasons of the year. There is a very diverse flora and fauna, because of the many microenvironments, such as streams, rivers, lakes, forests, agricultural land, coppices, pasture, sub-alpine grassland and the unique biotope of the

A footpath leads up from the village through the sub-alpine plateaus of Mt Tymphe to

Drakolimni Drakolimni (, "Dragon Lake") is the name of several alpine or sub-alpine lakes in northwestern Greece Epirus (region), Epirus region: the ones in mountain Tymfi and Smolikas are the most widely known. According to local folktales the lakes used ...

(''Dragonlake''), a glacial lake at an altitude of 2000 m. The trek to the lake lasts about 5 hours. Along the way, at an altitude of 1950 m, there is a mountain refuge, the Mountain Hut of

Tymphe Tymphe (in Latin and English usage) or Tymfi (in the Greek government's preferred transliteration), Timfi, also Tymphi (, ) is a mountain in the northern Pindus mountain range, in northwestern Greece. It is part of the regional units of Greece, ...

or of Astraka. It normally operates from May to October although it has solar panels that enable its use throughout the year. Use during the winter months can be arranged by appointment. Another landscape attraction is a series of rock pools known as the Kolymbethres (Gr. term for "baptismal fonts") or the Ovires of Rogovos, which have been formed in the limestone by the so-called stream of Rogovos running down Mt Tymphe.

History

Papingo is first mentioned in a bull of

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

emperor

Andronikos III Palaiologos Andronikos III Palaiologos (; 25 March 1297 – 15 June 1341), commonly Latinized as Andronicus III Palaeologus, was the Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341. He was the son of Michael IX Palaiologos and Rita of Armenia. He was proclaimed c ...

from 1325. In 1399, the Greek population of great

and Papingo joined the

Despot of Epirus The Despot of Epirus was the ruler of the Despotate of Epirus, one of the rump states of the Byzantine Empire in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade. The name "Despotate of Epirus" and the title "despot of Epirus" are modern historiographical name ...

Esau Esau is the elder son of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis and by the minor prophet, prophets Obadiah and Malachi. The story of Jacob and Esau reflects the historical relationship between Israel and Edom, aiming ...

, in his campaign against various Albanian and Aromanian tribesmen. At the beginning of the 15th century, the

Chronicle of the Tocco A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, t ...

reports that Leonardo Tocco Leonardo was on hand to rescue the people of Papingo from a Turkish attack. After 1430 when the region came under Ottoman control Papingo became the capital of Zagori. The village enjoyed a period of prosperity from the 15th to the 17th centuries due to the special privileges that the region of

had secured from the Ottoman Sultan.

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

locally called "Arvanites", have settled in Megalo Papingo after the 15th century, later assimilating into the local population.

Sarakatsani The Sarakatsani (), also called Karakachani (), are an ethnic Greeks, Greek population subgroup who were traditionally Transhumance, transhumant shepherds, native to Greece, with a smaller presence in neighbouring Bulgaria, southern Albania, an ...

have settled in both Megalo and Mikro Papingo at the beginning of the 20th century. During 17th-18th century various locals became folk healers, known as

Vikos doctors Vikos doctors were folk healers or practical medical practitioners from the Greek area of Zagori in the 18–19th century. Etymology The Greek word ἰατρός (''iatrós'', doctor or healer) is often translated as physician. Vikos doctors ...

, who used local herbs for various diseases. A Greek school called the ''Kallineios School'' was built in 1780 with funds by Michael Anagnostopoulos, a wealthy expatriate living in the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

. The village's prosperity ended in the 19th C when the administrative privileges were withdrawn. A demographic decline ensued that continued through the 20th C, even after the union of

with

following the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

. There has been a small increase in the population of the two villages in recent decades, after they became a tourist attraction, especially following the Kallikratis Law project.

Buildings

The Kallineios School, founded in 1780, houses also the library of its founder, Michael Anagnostopoulos. Among the churches of Megalo Papingo, the church of

Saint Blaise Blaise of Sebaste (, ''Hágios Blásios''; martyred 316 AD) was a physician and bishop of Sivas, Sebastea in historical Lesser Armenia (modern Sivas, Turkey) who is venerated as a Christian saint and martyr. He is counted as one of the Fourteen ...

(Agios Blasios) dates from 1852 but is built on top of the foundations of an older church from 912. The church of

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

(Agios Georgios) dates from 1774 and was renovated in 1880. The church of Panagia is also said to date from 1774. Outside Papingo near the main road that leads to the village is the Monastery of St Paraskevi (Agia Paraskevi), a Byzantine foundation. The 18th century church of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel (known also as the ''Taxiarchs'') in Mikro Papingo has a wonderful wooden screen made by Epirotan craftsmen. It was originally the chapel of a monastery and its only remaining building.

Notable people from Papingo

*Michael Anagnos or Michael Anagnostopoulos (1837–1906), philanthropist and director of Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind. *Georgios Anagnostopoulos (1884-1936), linguist. *Zacharias Sardelis (1830–1913), scholar and journalist.

Bibliography

References

External links

* {{Zagori div Populated places in Ioannina (regional unit) Zagori