Aetoliko is the most populated island of Greece, and it’s especially graphic character makes it a beautiful destination to spend a day near Messolonghi and deal with art, religious tradition, tasting and the experience of horse riding.

We start at 11:00 with our visit to the “Vaso Katraki” Engraving Arts Museum, where we remain amazed by the greatness of the artist’s works, the simplicity and the turbulent life.

Then we take a tour through the narrows of Aetoliko and the churches that hide treasures of inestimable historical value.

• The Holy Assumption Church, located in the center of Aetoliko, the main square, where there were also a bazaar market. This is the great Metropolitan Church of Aetoliko, called Virgin Mary of Aetoliko or Virgin Mary Pazaritissa. The old church was destroyed by an earthquake in 1965 and it was built again. The wooden temple is an excellent art sample of the 2nd half of the 18th century, which is now located in the new Temple.

• The famous brocade epitaph, is one of the oldest and most valuable relics of the Temples of Greece. This fine example of art of Istanbul, was a gift of the emperor Angelos Komninos. Its embroidered faces look like they were painted.

In the previous church there were many meetings of the generals of Western Greece, during the Revolution. In April 1824 inside the temple the trial of General C. Karaiskakis took place. All valuable religious, archaeological and artistic relics that were in the temple are rescued.

In Aetoliko, Messolonghi is the reputed for the wooden temple that belongs to the 18th century, the Church of the Archangels. The temple is a fine example of the art of woodcarving. In the year 1823, during the siege of Aetoliko by the Turks, a bombshell fell in the middle of the church and from the hole it created, water started flowing which proved very useful for those who were trapped inside. Behind the sanctuary of the Temple, is the tomb of Kyra Vasiliki of Ali Pasha.

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We will arrive at the traditional restaurant ‘Monofthalmos’ to enjoy authentic gastronomic cuisine.

The menu includes:

Appetizer

Pickled Ligda (small bream) /

Lagoon Eel grilled /

“STEFOS” Appetizer with smoked octopus

Salad

Greek salad with virgin olive oil of the region /

Season salad

Main Dish

Fresh seasonal fish from the lagoon (sea bream-bass-pedal mullet) /

Meat of your choice on the grill accompanied by fresh fries or boiled greens.

Drink

2 glasses of wine or 1 glass of Ouzo Trikene

Dessert

Dessert of the day (fruits of the season)

Then we will visit the Engraving and Painting gallery of the Kotsaris brothers and they will introduce us to the tradition of the island art.

At 18:00 our Spanish horses await us in the horse farm kitchen of John Parras. There he will show us his love for these remarkable creatures and he will teach us how to ride and do a one-hour ride in a wooded area west of Aetoliko.

Full of experiences and images of Missolonghi we return to the city for rest.