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Kalamitsia Monastery, Naxos

Kalamitsia Monastery, Naxos

A unique story hides in the Kalamitsia Monastery, Naxos, in a region between the village of Melanes and the village of Potamia. You will meet in Kalamitsia a unique building, once a resort of unique beauty but also a great history that over the years has lost its glory.

The monastery in Kalamitsia is the resort of Jesuit monks who once settled in Naxos. Built in the 17th century, it literally provided everything from stables, pigeons, huge gardens to an olive press. It was not by chance that they called it the palace of the Jesuits. The reason for the foundation of the monastery is the rest and recreation of the Jesuits after preaching in the surrounding villages.

The Jesuit work may not have been successful in Naxos, but it has left behind a great architectural heritage, such as the Monastery of Kalamitsia, but also the castle halls and the building that currently houses the archaeological museum of Naxos.

Today, the palace or monastery in Kalamitsia is ruined, alone near the village of Melanes. The road that leads us to the monastery is dirtyroad, while you will find the beautiful and abandoned monastery built in a ravine.

Natural water springs pass through the monastery, while the irrigation system of the monastery was really advanced for its time. Today the abandonment is obvious but the beauty of the building is unique and betrays the bygone glamor.