Arnaia, built amphitheatrically at the foot of Mount Holomontas at 600 meters altitude, is one of the most beautiful settlements in mountainous Chalkidiki. Permanent residents are over 2,500 and are engaged in logging, livestock, beekeeping, and trade.
Arnaia still retains its old urban and architectural character. The houses are very close to each other and have no yards to protect themselves from the air and keep them warm during the winter.
There are no free spaces in the building web but narrow, paved alleys and squares. The core of the settlement is the central square, the “bazaar”, where there is a large plane tree through which drinking water flows, while the public services are concentrated around the square and the main street. The traditional houses of Arnaia were built in the first half of the 19th century and others in the period 1850-1945.
The residences, restored today and painted in shades of ocher and tile, have amazing construction details. With rough stone walls on the lower floors, ornate vestibules, loggias and a wide variety of windows, stenchards built on wooden beams that lie beyond the walls of the ground floor and are made of lighter materials such as canes and mud (dumbbell).
Arnaia in 1987 was designated by the Ministry of Culture as “Historical Site” and “Traditional Settlement” and with the help of the Municipality, the Fourth Ephorate of Modern Monuments and various programs, several residences were restored with the result that Arnaia currently has buildings that have been characterized as preserved – works of art.
As you walk through the scenic streets of the city, seeing the beautifully restored buildings with the sign beside the entrance, where the name of the mansion and the photo before rehabilitation, is like traveling to old times.
