Municipality Of the Month
Aegina

The painting canvas

At first glance, Aegina looks like a painting: a facade of variegated colour, with brightly-painted neoclassical buildings, balconies with elaborately designed marble corbels and ornate railings, multi-coloured traditional wooden fishing boats, the little white chapel of Saint Nicholas. This is Aegina. One of Greece’s most picturesque towns, which, over time, has become a favourite suburb of Athenians and foreigners alike, who choose to make it their home for a greater part of the year. This elegant and romantic island town boasts a glorious past. It was the first capital of the newly founded Greek state in 1829, and was prosperous due to the farming of pistachios. Cultivated since 1850, the local variety is internationally recognised as one of the best and is the protagonist of the Aegina Fistiki Fest, an annual gastronomic and cultural festival. And that’s not all. Aegina’s history goes way back. Remnants of its vast ancient history include the world-renowned, and well-preserved, temple of Aphaia in the eastern part of the island, and the ruins of the temple of Apollo in the area known as Kolona, on the western coast. For a taste of the Middle Ages, visit the Byzantine settlement of Paleochora and its chapels perched atop the hill, despite being destroyed in 1537 by the pirate named Barbarossa. The Monastery of St. Nektarios welcomes thousands of visitors each year, who make the pilgrimage to worship the relics of the Saint. Also of significance is the convent of Chrysoleontissa, the oldest active monastery on the island.