The Harokopos Tower in Giannouli, LarissaThe tower that dominates the entrance to Giannouli, on the road from Larissa to Tyrnavos, has a long history behind it. It is called the “Harokopos Tower” and was built by Panagis Harokopos, one of the most important figures of Thessaly, in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Panagis Harokopos was an entrepreneur in Romania, originally from Kefalonia. He came to Larissa after the liberation of 1881 and bought the Giannouli estate from the Turkish bey Ousabandin. He brought the first threshing machine to Greece, established an agricultural school in Farsala and the Harokopio School in Athens, and in 1902 he commissioned the famous architect of the time, Anastasios Metaxas, to construct the tower we see today. The mansion experienced days of great glory! Personalities such as Eleftherios Venizelos passed through here, and later Melina Mercouri (who married Panagis Harokopos the younger), who many years later, in 1986, as Minister of Culture, decided that the Tower should be designated a preserved monument. Harokopos Tower is in need of maintenance and restoration, but it is privately owned, and therefore the State cannot intervene for the time being. There has been interest expressed in its purchase, restoration, and utilization by the Municipality of Larissa and the Ministry of Culture. Today the marks of time are clearly visible upon it, and when it is wrapped in fog, it resembles a haunted house that seems to have emerged from the pages of a fairy tale. Related TagsLARISSA – The City of Pleasant Surprises,OLYMPUS - Thessaly’s Calm Power,
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