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Armolia

The village of Armolia is located on the main crossroads to the villages of the south. It lies at a two-kilometre-distance from Kalamoti and twenty kilometers from the town of Chios on a fertile plain. The people of Armolia maintain a long tradition in ceramic pottery such as pitchers, vases, jars, bowls, cups, etc. In the village, there are small, stone houses, narrow side streets and cobbled roads. One of the most impressive carved temples (iconostasis) on the island can be found at the Church of Panagia (Virgin Mary) and is dated back to 1744. This church is adjacent to the village’s central Church of Agios Dimitrios.

On the hill, west of the village, stands the Byzantine castle of Apolichna, which was built in 1446. The Genoese established the administrative mansion of the Mastichochoria (Mastic villages) there. The castle is a remarkable medieval monument, which is still preserved and can easily be reached by visitors. The climb to the castle is signposted from the edge of the settlement and after a short country road we walk on a path, which ends at steps leading to the east entrance of the castle.

East of Armolia there is the monastery of Zoodochos Pigi Vretou at Lagadi, established in the late 18th century on the site of the former church of Panagia. Surrounding hills are covered with thick shrubbery, in a great variety, such as arbutus, wild arbutus, lentisks and sparse pines, whereas in the vast plain olive and mastic trees are cultivated.

Between Armolia and Pyrgi, a branch runs through a narrow valley with mastic trees before it reaches the cove of Kato Fana, where we can visit the homonymous archaeological site.

 

Fortified Medieval Settlements: 

Pyrgi | Mesta | Olympoi | Kalamoti | Armolia | Vessa | Anavatos

 

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