Agia Paraskevi, Lesbos
Village layout
The village contains many traditional houses that shows the Venetian and Roman occupation of the island and is a rare, non-commercialized, non-tourist village — locals sit at tavernas that line the main street and socialize. The people are quite friendly and get around on foot, moped, horse, mule, or donkey; however, the automobile has largely supplanted animals as the main mode of transportation of both people and farm produce.
Near the village at Klopedi, are the remains of the ancient Aeolian temple of Napaios Apollo, while Messa, also nearby, boasts the ruins of a big Ionian temple (late 4th–early 3rd century BC), possibly dedicated to three Greek deities: Zeus, Hera and Dionysos. A monument from a later date, the Early Christian basilica of St. George, restored by the noted mediaevalist, Professor A. Orlandos, may be seen at Halinados, not far away.
The school building of Agia Paraskevi is of neoclassical architecture of the early 20th century (1922-1930s), has a rectangular "U" ground-plan shape, and shows a perfect symmetry at its openings. The formation of the school-yard area is also very significant. The construction of the school building, one of the most attractive on the island, was financed by revenues from the town’s oil-press, which today has been transformed into a multi-cultural center.
The oil press of Agia Paraskevi is a complex of stone-built buildings that serves as a characteristic sample of exceptional industrial architecture of the early 20th century (1910) on the island. Initially, it had been operating as an industrial complex (oil-press and corn-mill) and later on, until 1967, it ran as a community business. In 1984, with the support of the Prefecture of Lesbos, it was restored and transformed into a cultural center. The central building was turned into a multi-cultural hall with a 400-seat capacity, the oil storehouses were converted to a folk art museum while the 11 olives’ storehouses were transformed into modern guest-houses.
The only other significant town in the municipal unit of Agía Paraskeví is Nápi, about 3 km to the northeast. In the latest census in 2021 the municipal unit had 2,230 residents. Its land area is 117.697 km².
References
- ^ "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
- ^ "Τροποποίηση του άρθρου 1 του ν. 3852/2010" [Amendment of Article 1 of l. 3852/2010] (in Greek). Government Gazette. p. 1164.
- ^ "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-09-21.