An idea for Svaneti: From UNESCO monument to open air museum

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1 - Architect and engineer Short Bio: The author is a professional architect and engineer involved in restoration projects in his hometown in Bergamo and elsewhere in Italy. He has travelled extensively in the Caucasus area, where he is promoting the preservation of the historical buildings of the remote valley of Svaneti in Georgia.

2 Abstract Currently the valley of Svaneti includes a small area classified and protected as UNESCO World Heritage Monument, the Chazashi village, due to the existence of medieval towers and of the beautiful landscape. This small village is part of a wider territory where the relevant elements suggest to consider the idea of promoting the idea of forming an open air museum for the whole valley, from the town of Mestia and its surroundings up to the Ushguli village. This could maintain the current precious elements which contribute to form a Svaneti identity, through landscape, villages, language and traditions of the local people. * * * Maybe some of you are wondering where is Svaneti or what it refers to. Svaneti is a small valley in the Caucasus mountains, at the border with Russia.It is a long and narrow valley, with steep sides which made access to the mountain villages difficult during centuries, until the construction of a new road 5 years ago (Fig. 1). The isolation maintained its peculiar characters untouched for centuries. It was open to trade during the Venetian times, and a Venetian procession cross is exhibited in the Mestia museum. It was also the place where stories like the golden fleece started: the idea that in its streams locals where collecting gold by putting a sheep skin in the tumultuous water, extracting gold. UNESCO has declared the tiny village of Ushguli, the higher in the valley, as UNESCO World heritage monument with the following definition: Preserved by its long isolation, the Upper Svaneti region of the Caucasus is an exceptional example of mountain scenery with medieval-type villages and tower-houses. The village of Chazhashi still has more than 200 of these very unusual houses, which were used both as dwellings and as defence posts against the invaders who plagued the region. During times it has been visited by illustrious visitors, among whom a great Italian photographer at the end of the 19th century. And yet, back in time, Vittorio Sella took his pictures more than a hundred years ago in these hamlets and the comparison of the different situation (then and now) is stunning. The towers that so impressed the early visitors are always there, like soldiers guarding the landscape: some have fallen to the ground, prey of weather or of human rage, like the ones destroyed in the early 20 th century: one for all the Dadishkilian tower in Becho, which was blown up at the time of Svaneti occupation by Russian troops. It is a pleasure to show, for a comparison, the images taken then and now (Fig. 2-5). It appears from the comparison that the towers of Svaneti have survived the centuries. Ushguli is certainly important (Fig. 6, Fig. 7). However the whole valley has characters which deserve much more attention. If Ushguli has maybe 20 towers, there are 250 more distributed in 2

3 the valley Together with the towers, other elements are essential for the identity of the Svaneti territory. Churches are part of the landscape and of the life of Svans. (Fig. 8-11). Inside the churches besutiful paintings (Fig. 12, 13). Other small villages are hidden inside valleys, like Hadishi, with its churches and paintings (Fig ) The Mestia Museum preserves old icons protected by villagers for centuries (Fig. 19, 20). Local crafts and traditional architecture are part of the life of Svans, together with the agricultural landscape (Fig. 21). Fortified towers are a mighty presence not only in Ushguli but in all the valleys (Fig ). Behind the towers, the giant mountains of the Caucasus (Fig. 26, 27). The recent years have seen in Mestia new developments with the construction of important buildings with a modern style (the airport tower, the palace of justice and the library) and the beginning of urban innovation with the new civic center. They are totally incompatible with the landscape. However a question arises: will the towers adapt themselves and survive the new developments? Will the landscape of Mestia appear in the future as it is now, dominated by the towers? At the same time this development is showing the first problems, like the need to collect garbage which otherwise ends up in the river and the presence of tourists uncontrolled. I have tried to find replies on who is governing this development and I have found no answers: if we were in Italy, a master plan would be in place, any new building would require an authorization from the local authority, the quality of the project would be thoroughly examined. I could not find a similar system in place in Mestia, only rumors and vague replies. Does this mean that who has the property of a piece of land is entitled to set up a project for a building without any proper consultation with the community officers? I have no answer. At the moment the government is leading the action: all houses on the main street leading to the central square are under restoration: the building must have a proper and nice look for visitors. When you ask, the answer is always the same: we are rebuilding according to traditional architecture. But what is traditional architecture? And who defines it? From my inquiries with friends I have come to the conclusion that consultants from Canada have been hired to design the new developments of Mestia, taking as model ski resorts in the French mountains. It is obviously a choice: so the look for Mestia in the next years will become the look of French villages like Courchevel? Will minor villages like Adishi be touched by the frenzy of ski slopes development and thus be destroyed in its beautiful landscape? (Fig. 28, 29). This is not development however, it is a loss of identity: the Svaneti architecture does not deserve this. My opinion is that, before any new development, restoration of old buildings should be pursued: but how the restoration could be done? The identity of Svaneti architecture is still undefined and unknown: recently the tower houses of Svaneti have received from a jury of international architects a special award in Verona. The architecture needs the attention and the study it deserves: ICOMOS, the international organization for the preservation of monuments has conducted an interesting study on the 3

4 architecture of Ushguli, but from the date of the study (2000) one important machubi architecture has been destroyed by snowfalls and other buildings have fallen. Preservation and restoration must be done in all villages: old buildings are a treasure not a burden. Thus preservation of the traditional architecture must be the key to development. This goes through two steps: a) restoration of abandoned buildings; b) clear instructions on the models to be used for new architecture, be it of local or foreign initiative. In an Italian historical town no building, or any addition to old buildings, would not be admitted if not coherent with the built environment. Examples are known to experts. The defence of local identity is a task for the local community who must be proud of its heritage and identity. Fig. 1 Fig. 2 4

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