Hands-on Approach in Dry Stone Architecture and Landscape Heritage Safeguard: the Case of Kato Meropi (Greece)

The paper explores a culturally sustainable framework for safeguarding the intangible values and material traces of the vernacular architecture and its associated traditional landscape, focusing on Kato Meropi, a depopulated village of Epirus, Northen Greece, emblematic of eroding rural landscape. Situated in the Gormos river valley, the landscape’s mountainous terrain led the indigenous populations in the necessity of regulating the reliefs creating terraced hillsides and dry-stone structures, forming an agricultural landscape. The approach recognizes the dry-stone houses, walls and terraces as heritage and a carrier of historical footprints, orchestrated by both tangible and intangible values. The research positions Kato Meropi as a living laboratory for transdisciplinary experimentation and as a cultural landscape that integrates heritage preservation with community engagement. By recognizing dry-stone houses and walls as sources of collective memory and historical continuity, the study establishes a dual focus. Firstly, developing protective frameworks that acknowledge these structures as components of a dynamic cultural landscape and then, showcasing participatory methodologies through on-site workshops taking place in Epirus. The key findings underline the importance of intergenerational dialogue within social practises, in reviving artisanal skills and reconnecting communities with their cultural topography. The proposed model emphasizes cultural sustainability approached through civic participation, opting to counteract heritage decomposition, reinforcing collective identity. Conclusions stress the need of employing intangible practices and rural activities into adaptive preservation strategies, ensuring their viability as active socio-ecological resources.