Locations of Writers’ Retreats in Greece
The Writers’ Retreats in Greece are located in the island of Evia (or Euboea). They are roughly 2 hours drive from the Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos.
La Bodeguita | Dafni, Nerotrivia
Dafni is spectacularly engulfed at the shores of North Euboean Gulf, 33 km north of Chalkida (or Khalkis or Chalcis or Xalkida or just Χαλκίδα in Greek), the capital of Evia (or Euboea or Evoia or just Εύβοια in Greek) and about 130 km from the International Airport of Athens.
It is a tiny little settlement with almost zero permanent residents and full of holidays houses. Quiet & picturesque with stunning, warm sunsets and a nostalgic atmosphere especially during autumn and spring. The beach is less than one minute walk from the house and is safe for swimming and accessible all year round.
Hiking trails and viewpoints on both sides of the bay offer day activities for the adventurous & can provide with spots where you can get inspired. The nearby sleepy little town of Nerotrivia, offers the authentic yet untouched Greek spirit with the typical tavernas and coffee places (kafeneio) where locals meet and hang out.
Untouched, secluded, peaceful; the perfect environment to commit to your project without being distracted for as long as you want.
La Casa Grande | Agios Ioannis, Aliveri
Agios Ioannis is naturally nested in the Servouni Mountain about 47 km west of Chalkida & 142 km away from the International Airport of Athens. It has been declared as a Traditional Settlement and has a Laographic (Folklore) Museum which houses and preserves traditional tools and household objects, all part of the cultural heritage of the area.
It is a rural area with roughly 1.500 permanent residents and the majority of them are farmers. The little village has a great history since the early Byzantine times when the first settlements started to appear and its strategic location deep inside the valley of nearby mountains offered a safe setting for the citizens during the Second World War.
There are still houses which have been made of locally quarried stone, bringing them into harmony with the landscape. One of them, is your Retreat which has been recently renovated and remodelled in order to accommodate the needs of a writer as well as meet the modern standards of an art residency.
The nicest beaches of southeast Evia are about an hour drive from the residency but there are also quite a few in less than half an hour to the west. All make up a great excuse to stop working either to enjoy the winter sea breeze or the famous Greek summer.
Villa Cortesia Maritima | Amarynthos, Eretria
Amarynthos (also called Váthia), is a coastal town and a former municipality in Evia. Amarynthos is 8 km east of Eretria and 27 km southeast of Chalkida, the capital of Evia.
The area of Amarynthos, along with the region of Eretria, has a long and rich history. Many scientists place Eretria of the Mycenaean period in the location of the present town of Amarynthos. The archaeological artifacts testify a permanent settlement in this location since the Late Neolithic period, around 3000 BC, which was one of the most important Helladic settlements and a significant port on the island of Evia, during the Early Bronze Age. It had built its own trade with the Aegean Islands, concluded from the findings of Cycladic art in the region.
At a distance of 50m from Villa Cortesia Maritima, there is the sanctuary of Amarisia Artemis which has been discovered, after more than a hundred years of research, by a group of archaeologists from the Swiss Archaeological School in Greece in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Evia.
Worth visiting in Amarynthos are the Byzantine churches of Koimisi tis Theotokou, Metamorphosi tou Sotiros and Zoodochos Pigi, all in the vicinity of the villa while to the northeast of the town there is the Byzantine monastery of Agios Nikolaos, with wall paintings of the 12th century. A Macedonian tomb dating from the 4th century BC has been excavated in 1897 one kilometre outside of Amarynthos in a location called Vlychos.