The most beautiful stone bridges of Argithea

In remote and inaccessible places, such as Argithea and the Agrafa mountains in Western Karditsa, these stone passages played a crucial role in the daily lives of the mountain populations, not only in terms of transportation and the movement of goods but also in terms of communication and the development of human contacts, issues equally vital for the remote villages of the area.

Even if their purely utilitarian value tends to be nullified, they still evoke admiration with their aesthetic appeal and their resistance to time. They are integrated so harmoniously into the natural landscape that one might think they are an extension of it. The groups of specialized craftsmen (the "kioproulides," from the Turkish word "kiopru" meaning "bridge") who carried out the difficult task of their construction, displayed an aesthetic sense that seems to have run in their blood, because these are things that cannot be learned in any school.

At the same time, their work managed to shake off the yoke of the ephemeral. Centuries after the moment when the last wooden scaffolding was removed and the "key," that central wedge-shaped stone that holds the whole bridge together, withstood the weight, centuries after the sigh of relief of the master craftsman (and his wife!) and the cheers for the "sponsor," these small, stone works of art withstand the harsh attacks of the all-conquering time, ultimately giving us a message of resistance and hope!