VAMVAKOU TELLS HER STORIES

a cultural digital route

Every place corresponds to a geographical map. However, there are also many other, invisible maps, which make up the micro-history and the local memory. This project aims to create such a map for the residents and visitors of Vamvakou, a small village up in the Peloponnesian Mountains, within the framework of the “Vamvakou Revival” initiative, which is implemented with the moral and financial support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

Fragments of history from the past of the area, myths and legends of the village, highlight the lived tradition and history of the people who have lived and continue to live here. The initiative aims to create an informal, modular, and constantly expanding open-air “Museum of Memory”, with the new landmarks of the mirrory columns and the boards with notes that outline incidents that “once happened exactly or approximately here, exactly or approximately like this.” The user is free to choose his/her own path. The final experience is entirely personal. All that is needed is a mobile phone, an internet connection, and headphones. The web-based digital application, simple to navigate, is designed to offer multiple ways to discover a story, providing both auditory and reading access.

One of the most important and innovative features of this digital application is the quality management of the auditory stimulus. The renowned composer and sound designer Stavros Gasparatos is inspired by the natural sounds of the village and the content of the stories, creating an auditory and musical environment that interacts with the narrative. The narration is performed by renowned actors, with Michail Marmarinos taking the lead, ensuring that the listening experience becomes a staged reading that invites the user on a personal journey into the past and their own experiences.

The majority of the stories and notes are drawn from local historical literature, primarily from the valuable book by Vamvakou native Nikos Stavropoulos, “Vamvakou: The Small Village and Its Great History” (Sokolis Publications, Athens 1989). In the next phase, the digital cultural route will be enriched with oral testimonies from Vamvakou residents, which will be specially collected for this purpose.