Thrapsano () is a former municipality in the
Heraklion regional unit,
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
,
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 it is part of the municipality
Minoa Pediada, of which it is a municipal unit.
The municipal unit has an area of .
Population 1,588 (2021).
Thrapsano village is located roughly 30 km. south-east of Heraklion and is at an altitude of 340m. It was a community until the 1998 "Kapodistria plan", when it became a municipal district of the municipality of Thrapsano.
The village is - at least on the island of Crete– well known and particularly to seniors because of the Ventema.
Ventema was the summer campaign and temporary installation in the various places of Crete, with earth ideal for pottery, and much wood for the furnace, until mid-September, of Thrapsano potters, in teams, where they manufactured big jars called “pitharia” and other earthen vessels, because they are fragile and the transportation from the Thrapsano, to consumer's site is too risky with the transportation by
donkey
The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...
s and
mule
The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey, and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two ...
s. A proverb says, "Everybody fears the God, and the Thrapsaniotis the walls."
Thrapsano is identified with pottery and particularly with the manufacture of “pitharia”, as its residents are considered descendants of the Minoan potters. Traditionally therefore the Thrapsano resident “Thrapsaniotis” is identified even today with the potter and in particular with the name of “pitharas”.
References
External links
Thrapsanothrough words and pictures.
Populated places in Heraklion (regional unit)
Minoa Pediada
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