Stone bridges, handmade wonders

Stone bridges, handmade wonders

Greece
West Macedonia
Veneticos river
Portitsa bridge

There are many old stone bridges in Greece especially in the north mountainous regions and all of them being precious landmarks of a past and longlasted traditionary masonry construction, totally handmade by local workers and credited from fathers to sons through the ages. These bridges were constructed over rivers in densely forested regions and served as useful paths connecting villages. During the years of Ottoman occupation these areas also served as dens to outcasts guerillas or even robbers. Nowadays visiting them is a striking experience of an excellent excursion and also rafting in the rivers.
In the photo this is the Portitsa bridge over the river Veneticos in western Macedonia and represents a great landmark for the area and one of the most unique bridges in Greece as it stands at the entrance of a very narrow gorge, thus creating an impressive scenery. The bridge was constructed at the beginning of 18th century(around 1730) and it is near the picturesque village Spileo where the visitor can rest and taste delicious roasted meat food by the locals.
The two massive vertical rocks just behind the bridge, form the entrance of the gorge which is crossed by the Venetikos river, a tributary of Aliakmonas. The bridge serves the needs of the locals to pass from the village of Spilio to the village of Monahiti. It is estimated that it was built in 1720 with funding of the monastery of Spileo, located nearby. In the photo the gorge looks easily crossable but in winter time with the floods crossing it wouldn't be a reasonable decision!...
It is made of solid stone, has two unequal arches, with a total length of 30 meters and its height is almost 8 meters. To get to the bridge from the village of Spileo, you have to follow the stone path that starts next to the primary school. It is almost 2 km long, and it takes around 30 mins to hike it. The bridge of Portitsa has been well preserved and has been listed as a monument.
This first photo was taken from uphill before start descending the path to the bridge.

(All photos were taken with Velvia 50 120 positive film(6x4,5) and converted after to digital with Nikon Coolscan 9000)