Galaxidi: a sailing history
01/06/2013
Everything in Galaxidi reminds to its history in building large sailing vessels. Today there is nothing left, just memories, and a magnificent museum of nautical history.
As we approach the museum, we found some houses with ship-figureheads in memory of that past. The museum has a lot of pieces, nautical charts and antique paintings, that recall the glorious past of Galaxidi. Many of the paintings show the boats of Galaxidi sailing in Venice, as a sign of prestige.
Not far from the museum we see the church of Santa Paracevi which was built in 1848 and has a sundial-clock in one corner working perfectly.
In the same area is the Byzantine style cathedral, built around 1900. In the bell tower stands the large town clock, and inside there is a wooden altar. We can also see the details of the arches of the entrance.
Galaxidi occupies two coves at the bottom of the bay. Here we can see the northern port in the second cove with a similar perspective the Archduke took in one of his prints.
The Archduke talks about the construction techniques in houses at that time. We found some old houses in which mud and straw dough was used to build them. Others are wholly or partially made of stone.
All houses in Galaxidi are protected (urban mening). The hotels in the city are relatively small, with few rooms, and are located in old mansions. Local tourism and its famous carnival is predominant in Galaxidi. At Easter they have a habit of drawing in their house's main entrance a black cross with fire.
Walking around the city you can see many details in the houses, plastered on the walls, on rooftops, etc..
Finally, shops are very well maintained and offer many traditional products.
