Klista

From one end to the other, Kythera landscapes are stone-built. The area is full of walled properties, so-called “klista”. During the British rule there was a form of subsidy for their creation, which also led to the acquisition of land titles by their developer. Beyond the delimitation of the properties, the dry stone walls were used to clean the fields of stones and the impoundment of animals. Most times, the walls were built high to pen the animals. Some closed buildings were built on the edge, many times leaning against the wall of the fence. Some “klista” had a cistern and an orchard while in others people sowed meslin, lathiri or other legumes and cereals.