Kastanitsa: An old village in Arcadia... Different!

It looks like someone "threw" a shiny, white settlement of the Aegean Sea into the mountainous chestnut trees, on the green slopes of Mount Parnon.

This is what Kastanitsa looks like at first glance. Built at an altitude of 840 m., one of the oldest mountain villages in northern Kynouria and at the same time the oldest village of Tsakonia: the region of eastern Peloponnese with the peculiar (Doric origin) language. In fact, the original Tsakonian name of the settlement was Gustenitsa.

The village is built on an oblong hill, between two ravines. The stone-built houses are whitewashed with lime, while their roofs are made of Malevos slate. They are decorated with arched doors and windows, usually in bright colors. Several of the (approximately) 250 houses of the village are tower houses, ie they have 3 floors and count more than 300 years of life.

Flowered courtyards, a network of well-cared for and whitewashed cobblestones between the houses, a few traditional lanterns. Kastanitsa is definitely one of the most beautiful and allegra villages in the Peloponnese. Since 1967, in fact, it has been characterized as a preserved settlement, with particular natural and architectural beauty.

But it is not only beauty that fascinates the traveler. Although it is a small place, wherever you turn your gaze -in and around the settlement- you will see remarkable monuments, which testify to its history. In the center dominates the patron church of the Transfiguration, built in 1780, with an ornate wooden iconostasis, of Russian origin. Agios Nikolaos is also the first church of Kastanitsa, built during the Turkish occupation. Around the village there are 15 chapels, all perfectly preserved, the oldest being that of Agios Panteleimonas. It was built in the early 15th century and destroyed in 1826 by Ibrahim's hordes.

Climb up there from the paved path with the wooden fence, and enjoy the magnificent view that will take your breath away, as it embraces the whole settlement, reaching the peaks of Parnon and the slopes with the dense forests of fir, pine and chestnut, but even further.

The Chestnut Festival and the endless chestnut forests

The chestnut forests around the village, which give it its name, extend to 4,500 acres, including about 38,000 trees. Kastanitsa, after all, remains one of the largest productive chestnut groves in Greece. They are all privately owned, with the average annual production reaching 200 tons in recent years (in 1960 it exceeded 500 tons).

The reasons for this degenerative course are the abandonment of agricultural cultivation by the young and the diseases of the "chestnut ulcer" and the "chestnut wasp", which have destroyed a large part of the chestnut grove. This is, of course, a great loss, both for the income of the villagers, but also for the product itself, since chestnuts are completely organic: they are not sprayed or fattened, and the variety "maroni" is considered particularly exquisite, suitable even for confectionery.

Since 1983, however, every last weekend of October the Chestnut Festival is organized in the village.