NAME:
“Aneza’s Tower” (about 1770-1800 A.D.), «Αρχοντικό της Αννεζιώς».
LOCATION:
Village of Chones, Ormos Korthiou (Bay of Korthi), Andros Island
TYPE AND CAPACITY:
Mansion-9 persons
SERVICE:
Once a week maid service is available, included in the price.
IDENTITY:
Indeed Aneza’s Mansion is an accommodation that will provide its guests with the comfort of modern facilities, combined with the warm and pleasant environment of a typical traditional Mansion house of Andros. The uniqueness of the house lies in the fact that the building is an excellent representative of the very peculiar architectural style of Andros houses in the mid 18th century. Moreover the house enjoys the privilege, due to its position over the Korthi Bay and the fertile Korthi valley, of an extraordinary view.
Finally, the last but not least positive feature of the house is that in the island of Andros, where it is situated, one could say that tourism is in a very distinguished level so one can feel privacy, calmness and this wonderful felling of being really hosted. This is a very resumed text about the house and the islands original attractions and of course there are more things to see and to explore….we are available for any info you’d like but sometimes, its better to discover the island’s beauties yourselves.
HISTORY AND ARRANGEMENT:
Α large (250m2 approximately) stone built tower-house of 1770-1800, nesting in the foothills where is located the very traditional village of Chones in Korthi area in South Andros, where the famous beach "Pidima tis Grias."-“Old lady’s Leap” the name referring to a local legendary narrative. The house is fully restored by the father of the family Efstratios Psarros and our son Nicholas (qualified civil engineers expertized-among their other specializations- in the restoration of traditional buildings), from 1998 to 2000, a task that particularly emphasizes, respects and highlights the local traditional internal and external architectural elements of the building. The house provides a series of facilities and amenities (pool, terraces, air conditioning in some bedrooms and can smoothly accommodate up to 9 persons). The addition of the pool and the sunbathing terrace in front of the pool were held in 2007. Set in its own grounds, the main house is substantially built on 3 levels:
A) The lower level of the house is 8 meters above the level of the main traditional paved path of the Chones village. This lower level consists of a living room with authentic rustic furniture and fireplace, a bedroom of three single beds, equipped with old original pieces of furniture, a hall, a laundry room and two storerooms. In this level there is also the main bathroom of the house (dimensions 3X4), coated of white marble walls and floor and roofed by an impressive slab-stone traditional ceiling.. The living room reaches to the picturesque garden with citrus trees, where one can enjoy his breakfast under the rich shade of the trees.
B) The second level of the house communicates with the lower one via a staircase. This level, which is basically considered as the ground floor, comprises a massive and impressive saloon that is the main living and dinning room of the house. Its dimensions are 7X7m. and 5,5m. height. It is furnished with authentic neoclassical pieces of furniture and decorated with original paintings, curved wooden selves, and niches. Furthermore, in this level there is a study room furnished similarly as the saloon. This room has a traditional (approx. 4m) stone sofa, which can be used as a bed for two persons, which in combination with an old neoclassical wardrobe will transform the during the day study area, to a very stylish and comfortable bedroom during the night. Finally, there are also in this ground level of the mansion, the fully equipped kitchen with a traditional fire place and one outdoor bathroom.
C) The third and higher level contains a master double-bed bedroom, a second bedroom with two single beds and two bathrooms for every bedroom respectively. Both rooms are fully furnished, similarly as the rest of the house and are equipped with spacious wardrobes. From this level one can access to the top broad veranda of the tower house that provides unobstructed views both to the Bay of Korthi and the valley leading to the sea. The veranda is ideal for dinning under the moonlight.
D) Finally, by the main building there is the aforementioned swimming pool surrounded by shady nooks under old olive trees and by spacious terraces for sun-bathing, with exquisite view of the valley and Korthi bay.
KEY DISTANCES AND POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES:
A) From Rafina port (East Attica) a two hour journey by ferryboat or fifty minutes by speedboat to Gavrio port (Andros). From Gavrio port the village is forty to fifty minutes by car, but alternatively there is a local bus timetable from Gavrio which takes about 1-1.5 hour to reach the main village of Ormos.
B) The traditional village of Chones is built amphitheatrically above the main village of Ormos Korthiou (Bay of Korthi) situated just 2 km from it. That is only three minutes by car but alternatively you can follow the old traditional paved path which, walking by medium pace, can lead you in 20 minutes to Ormos Korthiou (Bay of Korthi). In the Bay you can find nice lounge bars, fresh fish tavernas and shops for daily shopping. Here spreads the long sandy beach of Milos and 3 km away from the house, the above-mentioned famous beach “Pidima tis Grias". In Milos beach there is a surfing club where you can rent a surfboard. An important element is the existence of beautiful small picturesque villages throughout the region of Korthi which are inter-connected with old traditional paved paths (like the one leading from Chones to Ormos) suitable for trekking-dynamic walking- or peaceful promenades in nature.
Andros is registered among the globally recognized places that maintain a special network of trails for trekking in the nature. These trails cover a distance about 120kms and direct trekkers around all the island. Some of these trails and pathways are very old and their use goes back to the Medieval or even to the Ancient times. On the crossroads there are signs of the international trekking system. There are licensed guides who can lead you through these longer or shorter itineraries to discover the mystery of the hinterland and the special Cycladic insular environment of Andros.
C) The capital of the island “Chora”, is the hometown of some of the most distinguished Greek ship-owning families, whose great donations have created among others the renowned “Goulandris Museum of Contemporary Art” and the “Kydonieos Institution” where, very important international art exhibitions and other distinguished artistic events and activities take place every summer. The island also has 2 archaeological Museums one in Palaiopolis, the ancient capital of the island and the archaeological Museum of “Chora”, where ancient artefacts from all over the island are exhibited. Besides in the western coast of the island near the village of Aprovatou, one can visit the newly restored and organized archaeological site of “Ipsili” where an ancient walled settlement of Geometric/Archaic times (950-500 b.C.) is open for visitors every summer.
From 2015 onwards the International Festival of Andros takes place in Chora’s open theatre comprising theatrical and musical events every August.
