The village of Filoti

The bus dropped us off here, in the middle of the village square which is full of tavernas and cafes.

Filoti is a traditional Cycladic village built amphitheatrically on the slopes of mount Zas, with whitewashed, flat roofed houses and narrow streets. It's situated in the Tragea region of Naxos which is well-known for its olive groves and little Byzantine churches, both of which are also found in the village. Filoti's name is ancient and believed to be of Ionian origin.

Just one huge, imposing plane tree gives shade to a number of cafes and tavernas.

We started exploring

everything so nicely laid out.

Got to this little bridge that also gives the square its name

It's all very picturesque

and vibrant

I got a bit obssessed with the small church on top of one of the peaks of mount Zas - a very common occurrence, one could say that the majority of mountain peaks in Greece have a small church perched on top, but this one is very high and there does not seem any access, no path, leading up to it. I always wonder how they managed to build them.

We were steadily walking uphill

past this Venetian tower - every village in Naxos seems to have at least one

nice garden with 

pond and fountain at the entrance

some big houses in the village

as I said, I became a bit obssessed

a common feature in a lot of houses in Naxos, the arch at the entrance

which leads to an open hallway/ terrace

We had reached a plateau, 

what can I say? My excuse this time is the tower

but then we started climbing again

a small church on our right

 

through the arch(es)

lots of plants and flowers in the streets

round the corner

 

good view of Zas (and what else?)

lots of steps in the village

and then I started noticing doors

some rusty

good view of the village from here

zooming in on the cemetery

The church of Panagia Filotitissa,  whitewashed,  with its marble bell tower atop its roof and the clock tower next to the main church.

The building that stands to this day is not the first one constructed in its place; the very first church recorded here dates back to the Byzantine era, between 1071 to 1204. It was then destroyed n 1544 during a pirate raid. The second structure was completed and officially open to the public in 1718.

The story behind its reconstruction is astonishing and historical books covering it in detail have been written. The Venetian family of Barozzi (see here ) bought the feld in which the ruins of the previous church lay. The feudal lord Barozzi declined the villagers' pleas to give up the field for the reconstruction of the church. The locals defied him and started working on building a new church. After a series of judicial battles between Barozzi and the villagers, the locals were granted permission to complete the church of Panagia Filotitissa.

The reason behind the unexpected outcome was the kindness of a Filoti villager, Stefanos Psarras. Psarras showed compassion to a Turkish child that survived a shipwreck near the Naxian coast - he fostered the child until his 18th birthday, when the child returned to Istanbul, becoming the Ottoman Empire's top judicial figure. He was in charge of the church's reconstruction trial and he returned the kidness that was shown to him by Psarras and the villagers.

The triple tower is exquisitely carved: in the central column, Psarras is depicted with the Virgin Mary who holds infant Jesus next to him; depictions of holy figures, flora, fauna and local beneficiaries' names are carved on the marble of the other two columns.

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a quick look inside.

The square next to the church is a typical village square 

the plane tree at its centre providing shade

refreshments and light meals provided by

the cafe that's situated there.

We sat in the square and had a light lunch.

We then had a quick look at the Ecclesiastical Folklore museum which is next to the church.

We then started our descent because it was time for our bus

Pots with flowers everywhere

enhancing the narrow streets

We got to the main square and waited for our bus to take us to the next village, thanking our stars that we were not going to the Hora as the queue was quite long.