 |
|
||||||
You can reach Halki in only 20 minutes from Chora, the main town of Naxos.
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
|
|
Only at Halki, and nowhere
else on Naxos will you find genuine and original ceramics by Katharina Bolesch. You can reach Halki in only 20 minutes from Chora, the main town of Naxos. |
|||||||||
|
The work of Katharina Bolesch is a key
feature of Halki's renaissance and of the spirit of Tragea and of seaborne
Naxos. Halki is situated at the heart of Naxos, in the region of Tragea, the triangle, which is also known by the ancient Greek name Drimalias, the forest of olive trees. The olive trees of Tragea trace their origins to Venetian Naxos of 1207-1566. They are deeply symbolic, not only in the Mediterranean, but also in the Naxian heritage, and it is no wonder that Katharina Bolesch has taken the olive as the enduring design motif of her work. Halki is as deeply rooted in the history of Naxos as are the ancient olive trees. Its many Byzantine and neoclassical buildings bear witness to the village's long history as the island's capital and trading center; a position it maintained from Byzantine and Venetian times until the mid-20th century, at which time Halki was virtually abandoned in the wake of World War II and the Greek Civil War. Halki's famous Byzantine churches of Protothroni and St Georgios Diassoritis and plethora of other churches and chapels in the surrounding countryside, reflect the village's Byzantine heritage, while the Venetian tower of Barotsi-Frangopoulou-Gratsia enhances even more the spirit of the past that still lingers so appealingly in Halki's narrow streets. Everywhere you turn in Halki you find the neoclassical facades of old merchants' villas, their mottled walls adding to the atmosphere of history and serenity. Today, against this background of Cycladian tradition and culture, Halki is enjoying a gentle renaissance. It can be easily reached by car, a 20-minute drive from Chora, or by bus. In Platia Halki at the heart of the village, near Katharina Bolesch's pottery and shop, is the oldest distillery on Naxos, the Vallindras distillery, guardian of the island's tradition of kitron production. Alongside is the delightful Yianni's Taverna beneath the dappled shade of an ancient Acacia tree. And around this beautiful little square, village life revolves peacefully amidst a thousand years of history and the rebirth of Halki as a traditional work place. |