Aegina The Nymph of Saronic Gulf
by Joanna Lazarou
At a distance of about 18 miles from Piraeus, the central port of Greece, Aegina is usually a favorite first or last stop of the many daily cruises from the mainland. In fact, much of the population of its 10,000 or so inhabitants actually commute to work on the mainland, so boat and hydrofoil connections are frequent throughout the year. Once a very fertile island, it lost much of its natural resources of trees and water due to over farming of its famous pistachio trees. Fortunately, a recently constructed reservoir has saved both the island’s natural beauty and the profitable pistachio industry. Certainly the pistachios should be the first item on your shopping list when visiting Aegina, followed by the local pottery, for which Aegina has quite a reputation.
Worth visiting, in the area of the port, is the chapel of Agios Nikolaos Thalassinos. Towards the inner land, there lies a town with some old neo-classical mansions, which have been restored and are now rented to visitors.
The main road by the seaside is off limits to vehicles on summer nights. The souvenir shops are busy at all hours of the day. Outstanding, among the island's original gift items, are the traditional water - jugs, which are used to carry and keep water cool.
In Sp. Rodi Street stands the island's Museum of History and Folklore, which holds interesting exhibitions on the island's traditional life, as well as art exhibitions, lectures and seminars.
Close by the church of Agios Nikolaos stands one of the island's oldest medieval buildings, the Tower of Marcellus. Nowadays it is used as an exhibition hall. Behind the tower is the old Liberopoulos home. When Aegina became the first capital of modern Greece it has also became the social center of the era. When Palea Hora was destroyed and the capital was moved back to the harbor town, one of the island's loveliest churches was erected, the Metropolis, which was built in 1806. Another building dating from Kapodistrias' era is the rectangular building of the Orphanage, behind the Saronikos playing - field, a huge edifice for its time.
The road leading towards Agios Nektarios passes from the rather unconventional Church of Faneromeni. On the other side of town, on Kolona hill, stands Aegina's prehistoric town. The first inhabitants of the area settled
there around 3000 BC and the site was not abandoned for 2000 years, in spite of the numerous attacks the inhabitants had to face. The last town was built on the borders of the island's present day capital and was fortified with walls.
During the 4th century AD, all of the temples, and Apollo's temple as well, were pulled down as symbols of idolatry. In its place, a large building with a water tank was built.
Unfortunately, Kolona's Archaeological Museum has been closed for some time for repairs. Many graves, most of them hewed out of rocks have been found in the area around the town. Kolona's beach is a wonderful place to swim, as well as the small sandy bays, which are formed along the seaside road. The seaside road that leads to Plakakia passes in front of the Wild Animal Treatment Center, which cares for animals and birds.
Worth visiting is the chapel of Agii Theodori, also known as Omorfi Eklissia, on the outskirts of town. A short distance to the south, in the Asomati area, stands the "Red Castle" known as the home of the English Historian G. Finley.
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