Gorgopotamos

The village of Gorgopotamos, known also with the name Tournovo, meaning place with thorns, is the birthplace of famous wood carvers. Following the tradition of technical specialization in one main field, which characterizes the villages of Mastorochoria, the people of Gorgopotamos engaged in wood carving and have left us exceptional samples of their art both in religious and secular places. The families of Sechides and Vourides are the ones most distinguished in this craft. The Sechides family has appeared in Gorgopotamos in the end of 18th century while some of its members appear under the last name of Taliadoros or Skalistis, a change that is due to the further training of Vasilios Skalistis in Florence, Italy. The wood craftsmen and carvers were seeking employment away from their homes with the seasonal emigration starting from the beginning of spring and ending in the beginning of autumn. We can find pieces of their work in the area of Mastorochoria and in the wider region of Epirus. Representative samples of their craft are the iconostases of the temples of Saint Athanasios in Ioannina and of Saint Charalampos in Preveza and also the woodcut of the temple of Holy Virgin in their birthplace, a piece of work of Vasilios Skalistis.