Villages of the Arachthos: Syki, Megarchi, Fotino, Loutrotopos, Pachykalamos
Five small villages south of Arta, with a thermal spring, a mosaic and a history from Venetian records of 1697.
- Syki
- About 16 km, 354 residents
- Megarchi
- About 11 km, 250 residents
- Fotino
- About 18 km SE, 165 residents
- Loutrotopos
- About 13 km, 37 residents
On the plain south of Arta and on the slopes towards Kompoti there are villages with few residents and many traces of history. These five belong to the Municipality of Nikolaos Skoufas and are described by the Greek Wikipedia.
Syki and Megarchi
Syki, 16 km from Arta and at 5 m, had 354 residents in 2021. At the site called Agia Theodora there is a mosaic floor, perhaps from an early Christian basilica, which is a listed monument, and the church of the Life-Giving Spring dates from 1867. Locals called a hot spring “Vromonero”. Megarchi, 11 km from Arta at 112 m, had 250 residents. In the 1880s it was known for good tobacco.
Fotino
Fotino, formerly Chosiana, is at 500 m about 18 km southeast of Arta, on the border with Aetolia-Acarnania. In 1696 it appears in a document about villages paying tribute to Venice. On 3 March 1943 Italians killed five men among 60 captives, who were released on 17 March. From the village you see the Arta plain, the Ambracian Gulf with Preveza and the mountains of Acarnania.
Loutrotopos and Pachykalamos
Loutrotopos, 13 km southeast of Arta, takes its name from the sulphur-rich waters flowing from Peranthi hill. The original village, Kato Bani, stood near the river, and in the early 1960s the state built new houses for flood victims. The church of the Archangels dates from 1796. Pachykalamos, 11 km from Arta, has the church of the Nativity of the Theotokos of 1871 and 330 residents.
