Agia Paraskevi (, also ''Ayia Paraskevi'' is a village and a former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

on the island of

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...

North Aegean The North Aegean Region (, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, and the smallest of the thirteen by population. It comprises the islands of the north-eastern Aegean Sea, called the North Aegean islands, except for Thasos an ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Since the 2019 local government reform it is part of the municipality of West Lesvos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located in the central part of the island, on the northeast shore of Kalloni Bay. The village is named after the ''Church of Agia Paraskevi'', which is found in a cave in one of the highest points of the town. The town cemetery is also located there. Presumably built over an old pagan temple, there is a well in the cave, and drinking the water from this well has been said to have conferred the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

's protection. Agia Paraskevi is an old village that is becoming a powerful cultural and economic center for the island. The village is known for its old mansions, unique architecture and for its festivals. It is often referred to as the « Little Paris of the Aegean » (μικρό Παρίσι), due to its quaint agora and stunning architecture.

Village layout

The village contains many traditional houses that shows the Venetian and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

occupation of the island and is a rare, non-commercialized, non-tourist village — locals sit at

taverna A taverna (; ) is a small Greek restaurant that serves Greek cuisine. The taverna is an integral part of Greek culture and has become familiar to people from other countries who visit Greece, as well as through the establishment of tavernes ...

s that line the main street and socialize. The people are quite friendly and get around on foot, moped, horse, mule, or donkey; however, the automobile has largely supplanted animals as the main mode of transportation of both people and farm produce. Near the village at Klopedi, are the remains of the ancient Aeolian temple of Napaios Apollo, while Messa, also nearby, boasts the ruins of a big

Ionia Ionia ( ) was an ancient region encompassing the central part of the western coast of Anatolia. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionians who ...

n temple (late 4th–early 3rd century BC), possibly dedicated to three

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; ; in Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Oly ...

and Dionysos. A monument from a later date, the Early Christian

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

, restored by the noted mediaevalist, Professor A. Orlandos, may be seen at Halinados, not far away. The school building of Agia Paraskevi is of

neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

of the early 20th century (1922-1930s), has a rectangular "U" ground-plan shape, and shows a perfect symmetry at its openings. The formation of the school-yard area is also very significant. The construction of the school building, one of the most attractive on the island, was financed by revenues from the town’s oil-press, which today has been transformed into a multi-cultural center. The oil press of Agia Paraskevi is a complex of stone-built buildings that serves as a characteristic sample of exceptional industrial architecture of the early 20th century (1910) on the island. Initially, it had been operating as an industrial complex (oil-press and corn-mill) and later on, until 1967, it ran as a community business. In 1984, with the support of the

Prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

, it was restored and transformed into a cultural center. The central building was turned into a multi-cultural hall with a 400-seat capacity, the oil storehouses were converted to a

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...

museum while the 11 olives’ storehouses were transformed into modern guest-houses. The only other significant town in the municipal unit of Agía Paraskeví is Nápi, about 3 km to the northeast. In the latest census in 2021 the municipal unit had 2,230 residents. Its land area is 117.697 km².

References

{{West Lesbos div Populated places in Lesbos West Lesbos