Melanes
The village of Melanes is located at a distance of 8 km SE of Naxos Town and at an altitude of 63 m. It is semi-mountainous and is among the oldest settlements of Naxos. Its name possibly came from the black colour that characterizes the soil of the area.
Important monuments in the village of Melanes are the ancient marble quarries with the oversized kouroi in the locations of Flerio and Faraggi. There is an aqueduct in the area, dated in the Archaic and Roman period, which transported water from the area of Flerio to Naxos Town, parts of which are visible at various points along the modern road.
The Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches of Agios Georgios, Panagia Kritommati, Agios Thalaleos, the building complex of Sanoudos in Kampones, the tower of Sanoudos in Kournochori, the watermills, the medieval stone-paved path of Fyroa, the olive press of Ntemari are important monuments of historical and cultural heritage. In addition, another important monument is the Jesuit Building Complex in the area of Kalamitsia, a Venetian building of 1680.
Community Villages of Melanes
Agios Thalelaios
Agios Thalelaios is a small, picturesque settlement of the Municipality of Naxos, with about 85 permanent residents, who are mainly engaged in agriculture. The village is built at the foot of the hill of Agios Fokas. In front of it stretches a valley with orchards, which are irrigated by wells. It is 5 km from the capital of the island. Its houses are built next to each other with narrow streets without special architecture.
Kourounochori
Kourounochori is a village of western Naxos at an altitude of 130-170 meters and has 105 inhabitants. Today, Kourounochori belongs to the Municipal Department of Melanes of the Municipality of Naxos and has been characterized since 1988 as a traditional settlement. It is located 8.2 km from Naxos Town. Its sloping ground has been transformed into irrigable and cultivable with elegant terraces.
The kouros in the location of Flerio, and it can be found in a narrow private orchard. The kouros is 5.5 m in size, and its right leg is broken.
The remains of the ancient aqueduct have always been known to the locals. The most important part, is a tunnel for the hydraulic aqueduct's exit from the basin of Flerio.
Visible ancient remains on the ground near the springs were found in a private olive grove by the architects G. Gruben and M. Korre and in 1997 some of them were discovered by the excavation of the University of Athens.
The temple is one of the most important monuments of the island. Systematic research (cleaning of frescoes) was carried out in the temple by the 2nd EBA.
Landmarks
A complex of buildings of the Roman Catholic church in Naxos, which was not a place of worship, was the Jesuit resort of Kalamitsia.
It is a complex of two traditional watermills in the area of Marmaroti, built in a position by taking advantage of the slope (17th century).
At Fyroa, there is a medieval stone path that leads to the river bank.
This church is a Byzantine monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary, with a church of the cruciform type with a dome. The church preserves fragments of its painted decoration.
All churches of Melanes
