Paradeisi () is a village on the northern coast of the island of
Rhodes
Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...
,
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. It has a population of 2,623 inhabitants (2021 census)
[ and is the second-largest town (after Kremasti) in the municipal unit of Petaloudes.
The island's main airport ( Diagoras International Airport, IATA code: RHO) is located here.
]
History
During the period of the Saint John Knights occupation of the island, the magister ''Villeneuve'' made a castle in order to protect the northeastern part of the island from pirate raids. People started building around the castle. Later, Arab inhabitants brought exotic flowers and planted them along the village mountain making it look as paradise, hence the name Paradeisi. After the Italian occupation, they renamed the village to ''Villanova'' only to be changed again to Paradeisi after it was reclaimed by Greece.
Culture
Strawberry festival is celebrated every year, the first Sunday of May, including strawberry fruit and products from producers of Paradeisi, Music and events. The feast of Saint Marina is celebrated on the 17th of July every year.
References
External links
Official website of the Orionas youth club of Paradeisi
Populated places in Rhodes
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