The Hellenic Lighthouse Network (HLN) is one of the most historic and best organized coastal and open sea lighting systems across the world. Greek traditional built lighthouses and beacons are perceived as an integral part of coastal cultural identities since they encapsulate tangible and intangible qualities. Lighthouse keepers in Greece have been influenced by the roughness of the landscape and the isolation of their profession. At the same time, their communities, the so-called “lighthouse families”, have contributed to the construction and preservation of coastal natural and manmade cultural resources. The paper seeks to delineate the cultural capital and tourism potential of life at lighthouses in Greece. It also underlines the significance of Greek lighthouse families’ role in protecting, revitalizing and rebranding the cultural characteristics of coastal areas. The survey was conducted in the context of a doctoral thesis and was based on qualitative research methods. Literature review, study visits at lighthouse zones, and interviews with professionals in the field and persons emotionally connected with lighthouses, produced results that confirmed our research hypotheses.
University of West Attica, Greece - ORCID: 0009-0005-0194-7399
University of West Attica, Greece - ORCID: 0009-0003-5757-7708
University of West Attica, Greece - ORCID: 0000-0001-9187-2434
Chapter Title
“Lighthouse families” in Greece: Their contribution to forming and preserving coastal cultural identities
Authors
Polyxeni Moira, Dimitrios Mylonopoulos, Paraskevi Kakaroucha
Language
Italian
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0556-6.41
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Tenth International Symposium Monitoring of Mediterranean Coastal Areas: Problems and Measurement Techniques
Book Subtitle
Livorno (Italy) 11th-13th June 2024
Editors
Laura Bonora, Marcantonio Catelani, Matteo De Vincenzi, Giorgio Matteucci
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0556-6
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0556-6
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-0557-3
Series Title
Monitoring of Mediterranean Coastal Areas: Problems and Measurement Techniques
Series E-ISSN
2975-0288