Aneza and the Sardine Festival
The fishing village of the plain, near the Ambracian Gulf, with the Sardine Festival on 8 August.
- Location
- About 12 km from Arta, altitude 7 m
- Residents
- 946 (2021)
- Festival
- Sardine Festival, 8 August
- Work
- Fishing, poultry, farming
Aneza is a village of the plain, about 12 km from Arta, near the Ambracian Gulf. It formed from the merger of two villages, Genitsari (Psarades) and Aneza. The people live mainly from fishing, poultry farming and agriculture.
History
The earliest written record, in the Venetian archives, is of 1696: the villages paid 43 reals a year for protection from pirates. It was liberated temporarily in 1897 and finally in 1912. After the Kommeno massacre in August 1943 the residents fled and about 100 families hid on islets of the Tsoukalio lagoon.
The Sardine Festival
For about 30 years the local fishermen have held the Sardine Festival here on 8 August, at the football ground, with free grilled sardines and white wine, a traditional orchestra and a message for the protection of the Ambracian Gulf. In recent years the festival has been suspended.
