Overview
1st day
We depart from our hometown and after several stops; we arrive at the city of Volos, where we can visit the archaeological site of Dimini. The site has become well – known because it totally represents the Neolithic settlement until today. Afterwards we will visit in the city of Volos the Museum of industrial history. The foundation of the industrial museum aims at the development and the elevation of the premises and of the mechanical equipment of the old pottery factory. The organization of the visit has the route of the productive procedure, to be provided to the visitor the opportunity to fully understand the way the factory functioned and the steps of the productive procedure. After that, we will go to the significant entomological museum of Athanasios Koutroumbas. The museum is unique in its kind in Greece and it is one of the most organized museums in the Balkans. It is widely known in the scientific world, which is interested in this topic. The collection is constantly enriched with new species. At the time being it includes 35000 insects of different classifications. You can mainly find Lepidoptera, which belong to more than 10000 species, sub-species and tribes and have been classified according to the international rules of the Statistical Entomology. Among them, there are rare and unique samples, such as Thysania Agrippina of South America, the biggest butterfly in the world, which has a wing opening 37-40 cm. We go to the hotels. We have free time to have lunch at the coast of Volos. We stay in Volos at night.
2nd day
We have breakfast and we depart to visit the west side of Pelion. Our first stop is Theofilos’ museum in Anakasia, a mansion built by stones, whose last floor is decorated with murals of excellent quality painted by Theofilos Hatzimihail. Next, we will go to Portaria, the big village at the west side of Pelion, where we can find mansions of traditional architecture and not far from there we can find the “balcony of Pelion”, the well-known Makrinitsa, with the paved alleys and the shops with the traditional sweets. We will have time to enjoy a coffee overlooking Pagasitikos gulf. Afterwards, we will go to Zagora to visit the Public Library. The historical Library was founded in 1762 and it is located close to the central square, behind the church of Agios Georgios. The building is known as Rigas’School, because this is the school where Rigas was tutored. The library was being enriched with books of rich people and monasteries. Later, famous men, among whom we can distinguish Kassavetis brothers, the poet from Zagora Petros Magnis, his brother Apostolos Konstantinidis and so on, donated new collections. In 1955, the library becomes public and falls under the Board of Education. In the library 5000 manuscripts and incunabular are kept. Before we go back to Volos we will have lunch at Chania, a village which is known for its ski centre. Then we will go back at the hotel. In the afternoon, we can enjoy a walk at the coast of Volos as well as at the shops, which are located at the centre of the city. At the end of the day, we go back to the hotel.
3rd day
After having breakfast, we will visit the archaeological museum of Volos. We will visit the rooms with the exhibitions from the excavations that took place in Thessaly. We will see the unique finding of the body of the 8 year’s old little girl that was buried with her doll and other personal objects 2500 years ago. Next, we will meet the villages on Pelion and the villages that are located at the coastline of Pagasitikos. Passing through Agria and Lehonia we will reach Milies. We will see Anthimos Gazis place of birth where along with Gregorios Konstantas and Daniel Filipidis founded the Generation School in 1814. At the central square of Milies the Holy Temple of Pamegistoi Taxiarhes is located. In the temple, there are two important constructional innovations. Underneath the floor, there are canals and wells that assure the impermeability of the floor and the reinforcement of the bass sounds. Relatively, at the bases of the domes, adjusted clay jars (turned upside down) reinforce the prime sounds, they enclose the sound at the inside of the temple so as not to be heard out of the temple and make the whole structure of the roof lighter. The result of all these constructions is the perfect acoustics of the place. In 2000, after having been approved by the Ministry of Civilization, a Bach festival took place, where voice pieces of religious music were presented. At the inside of the Temple you will be surprised by the special murals and especially that of Agios Christoforos presented as a ship and the fretwork iconostasis which is covered with gold and represents animals, flowers and plants. The Temple of Taxiarhes has an important history, since here on the 8th May 1821 Anthimos Gazis raised the Flag of the Revolution and declared the Revolution against the Turks. The flag is preserved until today and can be found at the Public Library located at the square of Milies. Exact copy of the flag you can find at the Folclore Museum of Milies. Then, we will visit Vizitsa, which has been characterized as a tenable settlement, where impressive mansions can be found dated back in the 18th -19th century. These mansions are samples of the wealth that the village had. While returning to Volos, we will stop to have lunch at the beautiful coastal village Kala Nera. We will return to Volos in the afternoon.
