The village of Agios Arsenios on Naxos, or Agersani as the locals call it, is one of the largest villages of western Naxos and near some of the island’s most attractive beaches, Agios Prokopios, Agia Anna and the seemingly endless expanse of Plaka.

It is named after the local chapel that was built before the village and still stands.

The sights of the greater area, where many old chapels are seen, include two old windmills on Stroumpoulas hill, the small tower of Agios Nikolaos with the characteristic dovecotes and the uninhabited monastery of Agios Ioannis Prodromos (St. John the Baptist).

Elliniko, a hill in the southern part of the village, features the ruins of an ancient fort, while at Petradia, a neighborhood of Yria, signs of an ancient temple and broken vessels were found.

Wandering about the village of Agios Arsenios, with the pretty traditional houses and their well-tended flower courtyards, you will encounter the large, renovated church of Agios Spyridon and the 18th-century church of Agios Nikolaos which also served as an observatory when the Aegean Sea was still haunted by pirates.

Agios Arsenios is one of Naxos’ most fertile villages and its inhabitants, numbering more than 1,000 are preoccupied with farming and animal breeding. The well-known Naxos potatoes come from here.