Sirrako is a historical noble village of Epirus. It is located 52 km. southeast of Ioannina, on Mount Peristeri, at an altitude of 1200m.
We do not know exactly when the village was built. It is most likely that the first settlement was created in the 15th century.
Around 1480, Syracos, together with the rest of the mountain villages in the region, was submitted to the Turks, after first securing a preferential tax treatment and a kind of autonomy. This privileged status gradually led the village to development and prosperity.
Many inhabitants of the lowlands, mainly in order to avoid the arbitrariness and oppression of the Turks, began to take refuge in the mountainous and inaccessible Sirrakos. So at the end of the 18th century its population reached 4000 inhabitants.
The tens of thousands of sheep that grazed on the slopes of Pindos initially formed the basis of the village’s economy. Livestock products were later supported by the woolen textile industry and trade.
From 1750 onwards, Syracuse traders flooded the markets of Europe and created a wide trading network, stretching from Spain to Russia. Oral tradition preserves that Napoleon the Great supplied his army with Syracuse capes before the campaign in Russia.
European travelers to Epirus Lake and Pouqueville at the beginning of the 19th century were amazed, because the Syracuse and Kalarrytian merchants spoke many foreign languages and had French and Italian newspapers in their homes.
Despite the economic and intellectual development, Syracuse never stopped fighting for freedom.
In the revolution of 1821, Sirrakos and the nearby Kalarrites were among the few regions of Epirus that dared to rise up against the Turks. But the revolution failed and both rich towns were looted, set on fire and completely destroyed.
The inhabitants were dispersed in various regions of Greece and abroad. In a few years, however, many returned and rebuilt their burnt houses. The production and marketing networks of the products were slowly restored and the village got back on track for development. Thus, at the end of the 19th century the population of the town, despite the arbitrariness and oppression of the Turks, reached 3500 inhabitants.
On November 23, 1912, Syracuse was liberated from the Turks. But two new enemies appeared menacingly on the horizon and dealt fatal blows to his economy.
The industrial revolution abroad and the expropriations in Greece. With industrial production as early as the 19th century in the markets of Europe, tarpaulins and raincoats replaced the famous woolen Syracuse capes. Craftsmanship experiences a great crisis and merchants leave Syracuse. Πολλοί από αυτούς εγκαθίστανται μόνιμα σε πεδινές περιοχές και κυρίως στην Πρέβεζα, που με το λιμάνι της ήταν τότε το σημαντικότερο εισαγωγικό και εξαγωγικό Many of them settled permanently in lowland areas and mainly in Preveza, which with its port was then the most important import and export center of Epirus.της Ηπείρου.
The Vlach commercial and technical demon that was born in the mountains was exploited in the best way in the lowlands. The Syracuse merchants lived in the central market and the beach of Preveza and had in their hands the cheese trade of the region, a large part of the port’s import and export trade as well as inns, oil mills and soap mills.
Successful merchants who made great fortunes, but who never forgot their special homeland, Syracuse.
After the decline of Syracuse’s trade, a great crisis also follows in the livestock sector. With the expropriations of large estates around 1924-1925 for the rehabilitation of the refugees of the Asia Minor disaster, the old winter pastures were significantly reduced. This resulted in the forced movement of livestock farmers to Ioannina, the plain of Arta, Aktio and Eleonas of Preveza. Many of them then, due to lack of pastures, were forced to sell their sheep and work as cheesemakers, itinerant peddlers, conductors, laborers, jailers and later in Preveza as tomato growers.
Έτσι το Συρράκο σταδιακά, ιδίως μετά το Β’ Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο, ερημώθηκε και κατάντησε φάντασμα του ενδόξου παρελθόντος.
In the last decades, however, a period of reconstruction of the village began. The love of Syracuse for their ancestral home resulted in the construction of around 100 new houses and the repair of many others.
Today, of course, the prospects for the residents’ return and permanent residence in the village are not auspicious. The Syracuses have taken root and established themselves in their places of diaspora.
However, Syracuse with its amazing architecture, its wonderful natural beauties, the guesthouses, the two folklore museums and the improvement of the road network can be used for tourism with respect for the natural environment in order to regain a part of the glory and prosperity of the past.
Source: “Syrrako a journey in tradition” by IOSIF E. zioga
