The article deals with the study of the settlement on the island of Poros and the urban unity Kastelli, as well as with the formulation of proposals for the adminis¬tration and protection of this historical ensemble.
Due to the absence of any relevant published scientific study concerning Poros, we tried to investigate in brief the historical and urban evolution of the modern settlement and to distinguish its past historical phases.
The recognition of the historical and aesthetic physiognomy of the historical ensemble was chosen as methodology for the formulation of proposals concerning its administration and protection, on the ground that the historical urban area and the natural environment form an unseparable cultural entity, which is regarded as a historical landscape. The charac¬teristics of the historical landscape are the traditional shell, the monuments/points of reference, the natural and built environment, the visual approaches and escapes.
The identification of the historical landscape was attempted through the systematic observation of a lithography: a work by M. Stackelberg, dating from the second decade of the nineteenth century, which strikingly resembles to the present situation (fig. 1). The photographying of the landscape from the same spot leads to valuable observations as to what has not considerably changed and what has been perished (see figs 2, 3). The historical physiognomy of the urban unity of Kastelli, on the top of the small peninsula Sphaeria, around Roloi (1927), which functioned as the nucleous of the modern settlement, presents a special interest. The observation of Stackelberg’s lithography through a magnifying glass (see fig. 4) reveals a wealth of details, which offers a new perspective to the scientific research and the administration of space. A second urban unity with an obvious defensive character seems to have been created exactly before the grading terraces and a little lower than Kastelli.
It should be noted that the name Kastelli, which has survived until today in the oral tradition, is the only indicative reference so far of the existence of a fortified settlement on the peak of the peninsula. The urban tissue that has survived and the geomorphology and strategic importance of the area enlarge the possibility to have also here a small fortified settlement, similar to those punctuating the Aegean.
Having the aforementioned data in mind, the strategics for the protection of the historical ensemble sought to formulate proposals concerning:
a. The general urban planning.
b. The settlement and the Kastelli peninsula.
c. The promotion of the cultural character of Poros, a goal which can be achieved through the elevation of the modern history and distinct physiognomy of the island.
