573. Chios
573. Chios
THE ISLANDS
330
573. Chios, Emborio, basilica (Χίος, Εμπορειό, βασιλική)
Emporio. (21)
During excavational research by the British School at Athens
on the mound defining the small natural harbour of Emporio
to the S, remains have been revealed of a stronghold that may
have been established in the early decades of the 7th c. and
destroyed circa 670 by Arab raids. In the early 9th c. the forti-
fied settlement recovered but only for a short period. On the
site of a Roman basilica W of the harbour, a three-aisled Early
Christian basilica with narthex and atrium has been revealed.
A circular baptistery with a cruciform font and mosaic floors
has been found to its SW. Today only the baptistery is visible.
Pyrgi. (22)
The church of Aghioi Apostoloi, lying close to Pyrgi’s main
square, is a smaller copy of the Nea Moni catholicon. It fea-
tures opulent ceramoplastic ornamentation on the exterior
surfaces, double marble colonnettes and successive stone
arches on the two domes, as well as blind arcades along the
longer sides. In the interior the church features frescoes from
1665. An inscription above the main entrance mentions that
the church was established in 1564 by Symeon, monk and
subsequently metropolitan bishop of Chios. Of course, this re-
fers to the renovation of the church, as its foundation is dated
to the 14th c.
Outside Pyrgi, at the Managros village site, there stands the
degraded Metamorphosis naiskos. It is Byzantine, with blind
arcades featuring stone ornamentation on the sides.
Armolia. (23)
On a hill W of Armolia stands the castle of Apolichna. Accord-
ing to an inscription once above its entrance, it was built in
1446 by Justinian Giustiniani as part of the Chios defence
plans of the Genoese rulers. The castle is oblong, surrounded
by double walls, and its entrance at the NE corner protected
by a tower. In the interior there were many small, timber-roofed
rooms adjoined to the walls, serving as lodgings for soldiers,
as well as space for cisterns.
Kalamoti. (24)
The Panagia Agrelopousaina church, once a monastery
catholicon, is situated SW of Kalamoti. It is a small, barrel-
vaulted place of worship with a quadrilateral narthex roofed
with a blind spherical vault. The church, found in a notarial
document from 1381, is totally covered with frescoes of the
early 14th c. The founder’s inscription mentions the Mentoni
family. The Soter church stands S of Kalamoti and has be-
come seriously degraded. Originally it was a cross-in-square
church, a type rarely met on Chios. Judging by the blind ar-
