Alexandros Papadiamantis never calls it by name. In his short story "The Nostalgic Woman" he simply writes "the high village", and every reader on Skiathos at the time knew which one he meant. His cousin, the writer Alexandros Moraitidis, described it as a place full of vineyards. Both of them saw Glossa from across the water, perched on the north-western tip of Skopelos.
The village and its port
Glossa sits at 240 metres, above the strait between Skopelos and Skiathos. It is the second village of the island after the Chora, with 826 inhabitants at the 2021 census, a primary school and a secondary school. Its old name was Platana.
Below it, on the sea, lies Loutraki, the village's port. Ferries call here, and many visitors coming from Volos or Skiathos step ashore at Loutraki before they ever see the Chora. The same community includes Atheato, a small hamlet whose name means "unseen", and it lives up to it.
The lighthouse at Gourouni
About eight kilometres from the village, at the end of the island, the road reaches Cape Gourouni. A stone lighthouse built in 1889 stands there, almost 18 metres high including its lantern. The slope around it is covered in mastic and strawberry trees. In 1996 the Ministry of Culture listed it as a protected monument.
The lighthouse is the best afternoon walk from Glossa. Go a little before sunset, when the light falls on the open sea from the right side.
Before the houses, the farmsteads
People have lived here for a very long time. On the hills around Glossa, archaeologists have found fortified ancient farmsteads, at places with names like Mavragani, Elliniko, Sentouka and Prionas: small farms with towers, built to protect people and harvest. The terraces and fields of today carry that long history of cultivation.
Music and memory
Since 1983 the village's cultural association has organised summer events that began as the "Loizeia", in honour of the composer Manos Loizos. Over the years they changed name and became shorter, but singers such as Giorgos Dalaras, Eleftheria Arvanitaki and Vasilis Papakonstantinou have performed in this small square.
Glossa also keeps a quieter memory. Two families from the village, the Mitzeliotis and the Korfiatis families, have been honoured as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem.
Practical information
From the Chora of Skopelos to Glossa the road crosses the whole island through pine forest. If you arrive by ferry at Loutraki, go up to the village for a coffee in the square before moving on. For more of the island, read our guide to Skopelos, its Chora and Agios Ioannis at Kastri.
